This Side of Medea
by Hobsonfan
Summary: This is the sequel to A Gambit for James. Laura, Robbie, James, and Jean work on the relationships that matter to them. They deal with their pasts as they live in the present and plan for the future.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction, not for profit, purely for fun, story. I do not own these characters, just borrowing them from Lewis.**

**A/N: This story might make a bit more sense if you read _A Gambit for James_ first. Some may say it doesn't make any sense at all, including my former English teacher who said my writing 'lacked imagination'.**

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><p>"Hello Doctor."<p>

She stared at the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm not here to see the bouncy castle."

"Obviously not, Chief Inspector Mouse!" Laura giggled.

"Now let's not get off on the wrong foot again."

"Sorry, Morse. Why are you here?"

"I still owe you a drink."

"You mean you still need to allow me to buy you a drink."

Morse sighed. "Let's not play the semantics game."

"There's no use sighing about it. Let's have that drink."

While Laura continued to dream about having a drink with Morse, James went out in the hall intending to hand over the reins to Robbie.

"She fell asleep before we finished our second game." James noticed Robbie glaring at someone walking toward them. It was the same man he saw Bradley Hobson talking to earlier. James positioned himself in front of Laura's door to bar the intruder from entering.

Dr. Alex Gansa walked confidently down the hall, checking the name on the file in his hand trying to match it to the name on the door of Laura's room.

"Excuse me; I need to see a patient."

Robbie moved up behind Gansa so that the quack was sandwiched between himself and James, then roared, "What the hell are you doing here Gansa?"

Laura was lying in bed trying to orient herself to her situation. Time seemed to be playing tricks on her. One minute she was listening to Jean Innocent lecture her on the benefits of hormone replacement therapy, then all of sudden she was playing chess with James. And now she was having a drink with Morse.

It sounded like some sort of commotion was going on behind the closed door to her room. She strained her ears to hear until she was reminded that she was neglecting her visitor. She turned her attention back to Morse and their shared pints.

"You were saying Doctor that this man, James Hathaway, is your son. Why should that cause you so much anxiety you needed to see me?"

"It's what he said about me. I need you to explain it."

Morse looked at her kindly, the way she always imagined he would one day. "What did he say?"

"I overheard him talking to Robbie and he said that my maternal instincts were 'just this side of Medea'. She's the one that did her kids in."

Morse took a sip of his pint in order to think.

"Did he go to Cambridge?"

"Yes."

"That explains it. They insist on using the Euripides version of Medea. His story offers a rather distorted view of events."

"It does?"

Morse sighed.

"Medea had magical powers that could restore youth. More importantly, she defended the rights of women and deplored their treatment by men. Throughout history there have been men who felt threatened by powerful women. Euripides, like many writers of Greek tragedies was subject to censorship and editing. The real reason she killed her children was never fully revealed in his writing."

"What was it?"

Morse shook his head.

"When you discover that Doctor, you'll get your memory back."

"Can't you be less precise, Morse? And why don't you ever call me Laura?"

Morse finished his drink.

"Then I'd have to let you call me…well never mind."

"Anyway, you're too old for me to use your first name."

Morse raised an eyebrow. "Says who?"

"Your doctor." Laura laughed.

"I have to go now. Goodnight Doctor."

"Thanks for the drink Morse. Let's do this again sometime."

Morse's image faded away from Laura's dream and was replaced by a body being dissected by a group of medical students.

Laura screamed.

James, Robbie, and the nearly crushed Dr. Gansa heard Laura scream. Robbie grabbed Gansa and pulled him away from Laura's door to allow James to go back inside alone.

Gansa spoke to Robbie in his annoyingly exasperated voice, "Let go of me. I'm here to help."

"Oh no, you are not. I don't want you anywhere near her."

"She's been diagnosed with situational specific retrograde amnesia. It's one of my specialist subjects. I wrote a book about it."

"You can take your book and-"

"Robbie, calm down! What's going on?"

Jean Innocent had returned to the hospital hoping to find a way to visit Fiona after checking on Laura. She recognized Dr. Gansa and remembered Robbie's disdain for him.

"I am not going to have this man seeing Laura, ma'am."

"I am a highly qualified psychiatrist," Gansa bragged. He only recently was allowed to see patients again after having his license suspended a few years ago.

A nurse and two security guards were approaching them.

"Gentlemen, let's find somewhere to sit down and discuss this." Jean displayed her badge to the security guards. "Please, let me handle them. I'm sure there won't be any more outbursts, will there?"

"No ma'am." Robbie let go of Gansa but continued to glare at him.

James had rushed into Laura's room to find her hugging herself and screaming. He leapt toward the bed and wrapped his arms around her and tried to sound reassuring when he said, "I'm here!"

Laura immediately calmed down. "Morse?"

"No, it's James. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course." It seemed so familiar. "Why do I have the feeling we've done this before?"

This time was easier. "Because I have the same feeling."

They held on to each other for a few minutes until Laura fell peacefully back asleep and a nurse entered the room, planning to stay for awhile.

James went back out in the hall and joined the others as they found an empty room to discuss Dr. Gansa's involvement.

Gansa told them that he was asked to consult on Laura's case. The treatment plan was explained to her brother and he approved it. Gansa's pager went off.

"I have to go. I'll consult with Mr. Hobson to see if he still requires my services."

As Gansa was leaving the room, Robbie quietly asked, "How's your wife?"

"There's been no change." Gansa sighed and looked almost human. "And I go on reading."

"Sorry." Robbie was sorry about the fate of Claire Gansa.

James was not happy about Gansa being Laura's doctor either. He waited for Gansa to shut the door on his way out.

"We need to demand a different psychiatrist."

Jean quietly replied. "You don't have the authority to do that."

"But I'm her son!"

"Biologically yes, legally no, James."

"I'll request it then."

"Robbie, you're not…anything legal either. It would be different if you were her husband."

Robbie winced. "I've asked her to marry me. She's only agreed that we should buy a house together, that it's the same level of commitment."

James stared at Robbie. He had not known about that.

"Interesting, but not particularly useful in this case. That still leaves you out until more forms are signed other than just an emergency contact designation. Her brother has legal decision making power. She put that in place years ago and it hasn't changed."

James and Robbie slumped in their chairs. Jean sighed and outlined a plan.

"You need to convince Mr. Hobson that while he may have heard that Dr. Gansa is supposed to be brilliant, he is not the right doctor to help Laura regain her memory and deal with the fallout. Now, what do you know about Laura's proclivity to disclose her deepest fears and feelings."

Robbie knew all about that. "She keeps things to herself and tries to deny any weakness. It took years for me to gain her trust."

Jean nodded. "So it would make sense for her to work with someone she's known for a long time."

James thought he knew where she was going with this. You're not going to suggest her friend, Dr. Ellen Jacoby?"

"No. She's too close to the Ligeia Willard case and I always felt she was withholding information."

After that case was over, Robbie had suspected Ellen knew that Ligeia gave birth to twins using Laura's name. He didn't have much good to say about mental health professionals as a group and couldn't come up with anyone he wanted to help Laura. "Who then?"

"Someone she's worked with a long time who started his career as a psychiatrist before he retrained to become a pathologist."

James was aghast. "Aberdeen Angus?"

"Yes James, Dr. Angus Rawbone. They have been trusted colleagues for years."

"But he has a terrible bedside manner." James never cared for the man.

"Robbie has that covered, don't you?" She shot him a slightly bemused look and Robbie blushed. "Laura doesn't need that from Dr. Rawbone. She needs someone competent to help her deal with her past, a medical professional, someone she trusts who is not a relative" she nodded at James, "or future joint home owner", she gave Robbie an exasperated look.

Robbie was ready to endorse anyone other than Gansa. "Is Rawbone still qualified in psychiatry?"

"Oh yes. He volunteers to work with veterans suffering from PTSD."

"Will Rawbone do it?" James was slowly warming to the idea, logic trumping his emotions.

"I'll take care of that. For her brother's benefit we can stipulate that Rawbone collaborate with Gansa. And we know he can handle him."

"Handle him; Rawbone might just eat Gansa for lunch." Robbie smiled at the image of Rawbone and Gansa going head to head.

Robbie called Bradley Hobson and asked him to join them to talk about Gansa. After a bit of hesitation, he agreed to consult with his wife about their proposal to ask Dr. Angus Rawbone, the psychiatric pathologist to work with Laura in place of the supposedly brilliant and morally questionable Dr. Alex Gansa.

Brad called his wife, Carole, and she urged him to agree to Jean's plan. Carole had seen the news stories about Dr. Gansa a few years ago when his license was suspended. She worked for a company that published medical journals and had read Gansa's book. While she agreed he was an expert on situational specific retrograde amnesia, she knew Laura would not trust him enough to share any feelings with him, let alone her deepest darkest fears.

That settled, Jean went in search of Fiona. For once, her parents were absent from the room. After scanning up and down the hall and seeing no one, Jean entered and stood at the foot of the bed. Fiona opened her eyes and spoke.

"I know who you are."

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><p><strong>Happy American Thanksgiving this Thursday to all who will be celebrating.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Jean wasn't sure she was ready for this conversation and took a deep breath as she considered her response.

"Fiona, I meant to tell you, after you fully recovered from your injuries." She looked at her with some concern. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm quite sore but all the vital bits are working again." Fiona noticed Jean's apprehension. "You don't need to be uncomfortable. My parents told me about you."

Jean felt her heart pounding.

"Did they?"

"Yes. You showed up just in time to donate the blood I needed. Fancy you and I both having the same rare type."

"Yes, fancy that. Did your parents say anything else about me?"

"No, should they have? You didn't give me a kidney or anything did you?"

"No." _I would if you needed one._

"Maybe, we could have a catch up ma'am, after I'm released from hospital."

"Yes, Fiona, that would be nice. You don't have to call me ma'am. You can call me…"

"Innocent? Yes, I always found that to be such a suitable name for you, what with you being such a stickler for police procedure." Fiona yawned. "Sorry, it's the pain medicine, makes me tired and apt to say odd things."

"No need to apologize. I'll go now and let you get some rest."

"Thanks Mmm…" Fiona's eyes closed before she could finish.

Laura ran her hands up and down her body. She had some minor bruises otherwise there were no physical injuries.

"Robbie, why am I still here? I want to go home."

Robbie was prepared for her questions.

"Your doctor wants you to see someone to make sure you are okay, not just physically, you know the other."

She knew what Robbie meant.

"When you say someone, you mean a psychiatrist?"

"Um, yes. You've been through an ordeal and there may be some things you need help remembering."

"What I do remember is bad enough. Why should I want to know more?"

He took her hand. "It's important, Laura. And the Dr. Hobson I know and love always wants all the facts."

"Well someone who doesn't know me isn't going to be able to help me remember."

"They found someone who does know you."

There was a knock on the door and then the massive head and grizzled face of Dr. Angus Rawbone appeared. "All right if I come in?"

"Yes, come in Angus." Laura scrunched up her face connecting the dots. "You're my psychiatrist?"

"If you have no objections, Dr. Hobson."

Robbie left them to talk and went out into the hall.

Rawbone sat down in the chair by the bed and said hello. They exchanged a few work related comments as though everything was normal. He had no intention of following Dr. Gansa's advice to strenuously question Laura. Knowing that there was no physical damage to her brain and that she had been sleeping quite a lot, he suspected that her subconscious had been active. After a few general questions about how she was feeling he acted on a hunch.

"Laura, have you had any unexpected visitors since you've been here at the hospital?"

She fixed her eyes on Rawbone deciding whether or not to confide in him.

"Angus, Morse was here to see me."

"Morse? He still owes me for some drinks." Rawbone paused. "Did he say why he came?"

She told him.

Later Rawbone went out in the hall where Robbie had been anxiously waiting. Rawbone nodded at him.

"Lewis, you need to find a copy of this manuscript for Laura." He handed Robbie a piece of paper. "Now I'm off to have some lunch."

Robbie looked at Rawbone's barely decipherable doctor's scribble on the paper.

_Herodotus' History of the Persian War _

What the hell is that? He called James to find out.

"It's an ancient Greek manuscript."

"Thanks James." He hung up without explaining and went back in to spend the rest of his time with Laura until Bradley Hobson arrived. Then Robbie went to visit an aging academic.

Brad settled into the chair next to Laura with his IPad. Together they looked at photographs from their childhood. Laura had no trouble remembering any of the people or events. One image seemed to trouble her. Brad had won a junior chess tournament and was presented with a basket of gifts and a trophy. Not wanting Laura to feel left out he allowed her to pick something from the basket for herself. In the photo is six year old Laura, standing on her toes, reaching up into the basket to claim her prize.

"I was happy you chose that. At the ripe old age of eleven, I felt much too mature for it."

"I loved it…" Suddenly Laura's eyes filled with tears.

"I know you did. Years later, when I came back from my first year of college, you had lost it." Brad reached over and put his arm around her. "I looked all over the shops and couldn't find another one like it."

"You felt so bad you bought me an Apex Practitioner Microscope."

"Well, you were no longer a small girl, you were an aspiring scientist."

"I loved that microscope too Brad. You've always been a great big brother." She looked at him appreciatively. "I don't like to admit that I need one."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. It will be our secret Laura."

She punched him lightly in the stomach. "You better not tell anyone or the whole world will find out what happened when you tried to ride a horse."

"I'm just happy there is no video evidence you can share." He laughed.

"This was fun, going down memory lane. Thanks Brad." _Now I need to remember forward._

Once again James was waiting outside Laura's room, a bag on the floor by his feet. Brad told him that following Dr. Rawbone's recommendation, he and Laura revisited their shared childhood.

"James, once Laura is better, I'd like it if we could get to know each other. Carole and I hope you will come visit and meet the rest of the family, your family if you want us."

All James could do was nod before he went into Laura's room. Brad understood. He had seen Laura do the same thing when trying not to get emotional.

"Hi Laura."

"James, I'm always happy to see you but aren't you supposed to be working?"

"I've got a few days due me."

"So does Robbie. He said Innocent is letting him use up time on the books."

James sat down and put the bag on the floor.

Laura studied his face as if she was trying to memorize each detail.

"Have I thanked you for saving me from the twins?"

"Yeah, you did, and it wasn't necessary."

She shook her head.

"The things I can't remember. You were there for them too, weren't you?"

He nodded.

"James do you mind if we don't play chess this time; I'm a bit tired."

"That's fine. I brought a book you might like. I could read to you."

"That would be nice."

James started reading Patrick O'Brian's biography of Sir Joseph Banks, the English naturalist who went on an expedition to the South Pacific aboard the HMS Endeavour with James Cook. Laura fell asleep just after James described their observations of the June 1769 transit of Venus across the sun.

Robbie was meeting with Professor Margaret Gold at her office in college.

A young woman came in and handed her a folder. "Ah, here we are; a translated copy of _Herodotus' History of the Persian War_. Is it for a case, Inspector Lewis?"

"Something far more important. Thanks Professor."

After Laura fell asleep James pulled out his phone and started searching for an ancient Greek manuscript.


	3. Chapter 3

Laura opened her eyes to see James studying his phone.

"Sorry, I fell asleep."

James put his phone in his pocket. "That's okay; we can finish the book another time." He took something out of his bag and held it up for her to see. "Um, I brought you this."

Laura stared at the object, and was immediately drawn to it. "James it's... Where did he come from?"

"His name in Ambi. I've had him as long as I can remember." He handed Laura a small stuffed owl. "He's a good listener and well, I've been neglecting him lately so perhaps he can stay with you for awhile." _He helped me through some difficult times._

"Thank-you James. I'll look after him." She gently held the owl in her hands. "How did he get that name?"

"It's written on his tag." James pointed to an uneven script of blue ink. "I don't know who did that."

Laura lightly rubbed the tag between her thumb and forefinger.

Robbie called Rawbone and told him he had a copy of the manuscript he requested. Rawbone said he could give it to Laura so she could read it.

After Robbie came to sit with Laura, James went home and sat alone in his flat. He read _Herodotus' History of the Persian War _three times searching for clues. "I've forgotten what a clue looks like," he said aloud to the empty room. He went to the bookshelf where he kept his notes from his days at Cambridge and found the section on Ancient Greece. Most of the tutorials he attended focused on the writings of Euripides.

He stared at the empty place on the shelf that used to be home to the owl. James was both pleased and puzzled that Laura was so happy with it. He started comparing the writings of Herodotus and Euripides and kept at it until he found something.

Robbie put the manuscript copy on the extra chair in the room and took the one by the bed.

"Laura, Good news. Rawbone says you can go home tomorrow. You'll need someone to stay with you."

"I expect Brad is at my house now."

"Actually he's in a hotel. I'm at your house."

"You are?" She was surprised. "Not that I mind Robbie. You're my closest friend. It's just that we…"

"Always had our boundaries." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Things are different now what with all that's happened."

"Yeah. It will be nice having you there. After what I remember and what else I'm afraid is coming, I am craving some protection."

"It's more than that. You see, I live there with you now." He took her hand and squeezed it.

"You do?" She sighed and shook her head. "How could I forget that?" Something dawned on her. "Does that mean that we…" She raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah. I was really hoping you would remember that."

"Sorry, you'll have to remind me then." She smiled at him.

"Not until you get your memory back." He saw her disappointed look. "Well, maybe just a few hints. Shift over."

Laura moved over to make room for Robbie in the bed next to her.

"Mind your back."

"Oh, so you remember my bad back and not any of my other qualities."

He put his arm around her and she rested her head on her chest.

"Does that feel familiar?"

Laura tried to ignore the antiseptic smell of the the hospital and concentrate on the comforting scent of Robbie. She relaxed as she listened intently to his beating heart.

"Familiar and different at the same time, if that makes any sense." She sighed.

Robbie noticed that Laura was holding a small stuffed toy. She caught him looking at it.

"James brought this for me." She stroked it lovingly.

"Sorry, all I got you were those flowers."

"And they are beautiful. It's just that this…"

Seeing her eyes fill with tears, Robbie pointed at the chair by the door to change the subject. "Rawbone said you wanted to read something by an old Greek fellow called Herodotus. I went to visit Professor Gold and got you a copy."

Laura didn't say anything.

"What's that about then, Laura? Rawbone said it was important to you."

She swallowed. It seemed she could never get enough air.

"Morse left me with a puzzle. Angus is helping me unravel it."

Robbie tried not to show any surprise. Rawbone hadn't told him about Morse.

"A crossword?"

"Not exactly. It's more of a semantics puzzle. He says when I solve it I'll get my memory back." Robbie could feel the tension return to her body. "Robbie, is it so terrible, what I can't remember?"

He gently hugged her. "I only know part of it. And it's not terrible. You did something very brave."

"Then why can't I remember it? I have the feeling that it's horrific."

Robbie tried to keep his voice as calm and steady as possible.

"You must have been frightened all the while you were brave. You are the only one who knows exactly what you did and planned to do if necessary." Robbie had his suspicions about what she had been preparing for in the bunker.

"Rawbone says I need to remember on my own."

"Yes, with a little help, if you feel up to it."

"I may find the answers in that manuscript. I need an alternate version of the Medea story and Oxford scholars prefer Herodotus' version to that of Euripides."

"Laura, you've lost me. What do they have to do with you?"

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice steady.

"James said that my maternal instincts were 'just this side of Medea'. She's the one who did her kids in. Morse says if I find out the real reason she killed her children, I'll get my memory back."

A conversation from a few years ago attempted to surface in Robbie's brain.

"When did you hear him say that, after the murder of Jessica Lake?"

Laura tried to recall the name.

"I'm not sure. All I remember is teasing you about using the phrase 'funny business', then we parted ways and I turned back to try and catch up with you to tell you something else and that's when I heard James say it."

Robbie frowned.

"Laura, this is important. That was not about you. James was talking about the mother of Jessica Lake's boyfriend."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm certain."

Robbie could see the confusion settle in on Laura's face.

"Then why did Morse tell me that I would get my memory back when I discovered the real reason Medea killed her children? What does it have to do with James then?"

Robbie sighed and tightened his arm around her.

"I don't know. Morse was always talking in riddles and turning everything into a puzzle." He didn't doubt her that conversation with Morse seemed real to her.

"You don't think he was making fun of me?"

"No, I don't. This is too important. And in spite of all the sour looks and acerbic remarks he sent your way, he was really quite fond of you."

Laura propped herself up on her elbow. Robbie could see the tiniest hint of a spark in her eyes.

"Robbie, can we talk about Ligeia and the twins? I want to put that behind us, then I can concentrate on the recent past."

"Yeah, we can do that. Are you sure you're up to it?"

She nodded. "What else do I have to do? I'm just not sure where to start."

"I do." Robbie got up from the bed and held out his hand for her. She let him pull her up. He wrapped her in a dressing gown, led her to the door and opened it. He nodded out to the hall.

"Blow the cobwebs?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Prior to this chapter Robbie and Laura revisited the conversation they had in Chapter 5 of _A Gambit for James_.**

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><p>Robbie and Laura wandered down a few corridors in the hospital then found their way outside to a bench near a small flower garden.<p>

"So it was Holmwood Park Hospital that led both you and James to the records of his birth?"

"Yeah, we should not have done that. It was your story to tell."

"Having you discover that was much better than you suspecting me of murder."

Robbie turned and smoothed his hands over Laura's shoulders and gently rested them on her arms.

"Laura, you have got to believe me. I never suspected you of the murders of Ligeia Willard, Rowena Trevanion, or Mary Gwilliam."

She had a faraway look in her eyes.

"James did though."

Robbie pulled her in for a hug and tried to knead the tension out of her back.

"He thought you weren't telling the truth about something. No one could suspect you of murder. You would never kill anyone, for any reason."

Laura perceived the fragments of a memory swirling inside her brain, the pieces trying to knit themselves together into comprehension.

"I don't know Robbie. I'm beginning to doubt myself." The uncertainty was beginning to overwhelm her.

Robbie could feel her go limp in his arms. He tightened his hold on her. They sat quietly for a few minutes.

"C'mon, we'd better get back to your room. I don't want Brad to come and find it empty." Robbie shuddered as he remembered getting to the hospital after Val's accident only to find her bed in the intensive care unit unoccupied. He kissed the top of her head.

"I just want to go to sleep. Maybe my subconscious can sort this out."

"There's no rush Laura. We'll all wait until you are ready." _Just like you waited for me._

Back in bed alone, with Robbie caressing her thigh, Laura fell asleep, soothed by his touch and warmed by this hint of familiarity.

Bradley Hobson looked down at his sister while she slept. He could tell by the expression on her face that her mind was in overdrive.

"Hello Doctor."

"Morse, you got here before the murder for a change."

"Which murder?"

"The one that…that I can't remember."

"Did you learn the truth about Medea?"

"Morse, James wasn't talking about me when he compared someone to Medea. Why do I need to know what it means if it wasn't about me?"

"To get the right answer Doctor, you must ask the right question."

"Can't you give me an educated guess?"

"I provide the clues Doctor, you do the guessing."

"Don't you have anything at all to say that is helpful?"

"Life is short, live it, love is rare, embrace it, anger is destructive, suppress it, fear is inevitable, face it, memories are precious, cherish them."

"Is that what you did?"

"No, I was terrible at following my own advice. Ask Lewis. And tell him we're happy for the two of you."

"Who is happy for us"?

"Who do you think?"

"Morse stop answering a question with a question."

"Goodbye Doctor."

"Wait! I need to know who…" Laura woke suddenly to see Brad dozing in a chair, his arm draped protectively over hers. She studied her brother's face and could see James in twenty years.

Brad woke up and caught her looking at him.

"I wasn't snoring was I?"

"No, you don't snore, but Robbie…" Her eyes lit up.

"Did you remember something?"

"Yes, probably not what Robbie hoped I remember though." She laughed.

He left some clothes for you to wear home. Before you leave, Dr. Gansa insists on seeing you. Officially he is your doctor. I'm afraid that's my fault. I should have listened to Robbie and James."

"It's okay. I'll get dressed first though." She frowned at him. "Not because the men in my life are worried. Angus told me about Gansa. If I need to dispense with him I would prefer to do it wearing something a bit more authoritative."

"You've always been authoritative, even in your bunny pyjamas and slippers when you were 5 years old and insisted on staying up as late as me." Brad got up from the chair. "I'll leave you to it and head over to meet with Dr. Rawbone to get the discharge instructions. He said he explained them to you already doctor to doctor. Now he's going to give it to us in English. I asked Robbie and James to come, if that's all right with you."

"Yes, it's fine. I'm glad the three of you are getting along."

"Well thanks to Jean Innocent, another authoritative woman. See you in a bit. We tossed a coin to decide who would drive you home and I won. I have a feeling we will have police protection all the way."

Brad left and paused to speak with Dr. Gansa in the hall warning him that this visit was purely for administrative purposes.

Robbie returned to the hospital to join Brad and James and receive discharge instructions from Dr. Rawbone. They had to wait a few minutes for Rawbone to arrive. Robbie wasn't happy when he found out that Dr. Gansa was with Laura during this time.

Rawbone knew how Lewis felt about Gansa and couldn't say that he blamed him.

"Technically he is her supervising psychiatrist. He needs to spend some time with her as he is signing the release forms. I don't have privileges at this hospital for that and it requires his authorization. Up to now he has kept to our agreement. I have directed Dr. Hobson's care and he has not interfered. We have to give him these 15 minutes." What Rawbone left unsaid was how he persuaded Gansa to go along with the plan. It was probably best that the policemen not know.

Just as Rawbone had finished explaining the discharge plan and answering their questions, Dr. Gansa entered the room.

"Did you leave Laura alone?" Robbie demanded.

"No, a nurse is coming in a few minutes to check her vital signs one last time. I left when her friend came to visit.

Robbie abruptly stood up. "Which friend?"

"A friend who is also a doctor and was very anxious to see Dr. Hobson. The patient did not seem to recognize her at first."

James was livid. "Exactly who did you let in to see my… Laura?"

"Dr. Ellen Jacoby. Her name is in the case notes."

Brad was panicking. He knew Ellen could be a bit unstable. "You were supposed to get all visitors approved by Dr. Rawbone. Ellen might tell her things she's not ready to hear."

"Look Mr. Hobson, she is a doctor. I'm sure she will use her discretion." He nodded at Robbie and James. "You are spending too much time with policemen and becoming suspicious about everyone."

Robbie and James did not stay to hear more and raced through the hallways to Laura's room while Rawbone roared at Gansa and tried to calm Brad at the same time.

Laura wasn't in her room.

Brad and Rawbone arrived with Gansa in tow. Brad entered Laura's empty room hoping there was some misunderstanding. He came out with a blank look on his face.

Dr. Gansa's phone rang. It was the discharge nurse calling to say that his patient, Laura Hobson, was not in her room and couldn't be found anywhere in the hospital. Rawbone grabbed the phone to hear the news himself and then broadcast it to the others.

James was on the phone to hospital security as Robbie called the station for back up.

James ended his call. "Hospital security is monitoring all the exits and we have access to their CCTV." He looked at Brad. "Why are you so worried about Dr. Jacoby?"

Brad unsuccessfully tried to remain calm. "From what I can gather, Ellen had a boyfriend back in college who would have really preferred Laura. I believe that's why she agreed to keep Ligeia Willard's secret about naming Laura as the mother of the twins. Now, I think she's envious of Laura's relationship with Robbie."

James and Robbie looked at each other. "Alec Pickman."

"Yes, that's him. He's still playing games with her after all these years. She's got the emotional IQ of a teenager." Brad shook his head and tried to suppress thoughts of Ellen wanting to hurt his sister. "Robbie, James, you need to find Laura!"

James dashed down to the hospital security office.

Robbie called Jean Innocent to enlist her help. She had news for him.

Fiona was missing too.


	5. Chapter 5

Robbie's phone rang. He answered quickly without checking the caller id.

"Lewis." He was shocked to hear what came next.

"Robbie, you need to stop looking for me. I've gone away for awhile. When I come back, I want you out of my house." She gulped for air. "This is all wrong."

"What's wrong Laura?"

"Us. You will always love Val. I could never take her place. I don't even want us to be friends anymore."

Robbie's chest tightened. "Laura, I love you. We've started a new life together. I have let go of Val." He waited for some background noise to subside. "We talked about it. When you get your memory back you'll feel differently."

"I'm tired of you and your buddy makes beer."

"What?" Robbie shook his head as he tried to make sense of the conversation. "Laura, please tell me where you are."

"I'm in get well mission. I am going away for awhile Robbie. Dr. Cook can take over for me at work. Don't try and find me."

He heard a muffled sob. "Laura, I need to know you are okay. Let me send Brad or James to come get you."

"No Robbie, I can't…" The line went dead.

Robbie resisted the urge to throw his phone on the ground, holding on to the hope that Laura might call back.

James and Brad both wanted to know what Laura said.

"Something's not right. Laura said she's going away for awhile, not to try and find her, and I'm to move out of her house." He looked at Rawbone.

"It's possible that she has partially regained her memory and it's upsetting her. Sometimes you lash out at the one closest to you."

Gansa started to speak and was instantly told by Robbie, Brad, and James that no one wanted his opinion.

Robbie replayed the entire conversation in his head. "Laura said something very odd, that she was tired of me and my 'buddy makes beer'. Those last words were a bit slurred."

Brad repeated the phrase a few times altering it slightly until he came up with 'bloody Shakespeare'. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Robbie stared at Brad. "I say that all the time, or at least when it is relevant to a case."

"When we were kids we came up with a rhyming code with our cousins whenever we didn't want any grownups to understand what we were saying. Your Inspector Morse isn't the only one who plays word games."

Robbie dug the phone out of his pocket and handed it to James. "See if you can get a trace on the number. And since when has he been my bloody Shakespeare?"

"Never!" James started scrolling through Robbie's phone and found that the caller's number was withheld. "She must have been trying to send you a message. So the good news is, she doesn't want you out of her life. The bad news is someone, probably Dr. Jacoby, is forcing her to say that. I'll get on to the phone company." His voice cracked. "Did she sound okay, was she hurt?"

"I don't know. She didn't sound like herself." Robbie looked at Rawbone. "Laura said that Dr. Cook should take over for her at work."

Rawbone sputtered, "There is no way that Dr. Hobson, in her right mind and of her own free will, would suggest Dr. Cook take over for her at work. We both agree that a cardboard box has better qualifications."

"Robbie, did Laura say anything else that sounded like it could be a rhyme?"

"Yeah Brad, she said 'I'm in get well mission', what could that mean?"

After trying and failing to quickly reproduce that intelligibly, Brad found a scrap of paper and started scribbling.

* * *

><p>Laura and Fiona, after an unpleasant journey in the back of a flash limo with tinted windows, were now being served tea in a boutique superior hotel suite.<p>

Fiona was in severe pain as the car ride was not kind to her broken ribs. Laura was more confused than ever. Why were they here, guarded by a severely militaristic looking man? She spoke to the woman responsible.

"I did what you asked."

"That phone call was just for starters. You need to stay away from Robbie for good." She handed Laura a photograph. "You'll do it to keep him safe."

"Yes, of course I will." Laura gently held the photograph in her hands. "I can't believe you would hurt your own child."

"If his father betrays me, it would serve him right. You can prevent it. Robbie, Bertie, and I can be a family if you don't interfere."

Something resonated in Laura's mind. Euripides claimed that Medea avenged her husband Jason's betrayal by killing her children. She studied the expression on her captor's face and was horrified by what it showed. _I must protect Robbie's child_. Laura looked at the photo of Robbie and the boy again. Something wasn't right. The realization came to her but she did not say it aloud. _He's called Jack not Bertie_.

Fiona coughed violently. Laura put the photo down to tend to her and get her to take a sip of tea.

While their guard was listening to further instructions from the real life Medea, Fiona whispered, "Dr. Hobson She's taking advantage of your memory loss. I don't believe Lewis has a child with her."

Laura put her finger to her lips, then felt the younger woman's pulse. "Fiona needs to go back to the hospital. What do you want with her? She has nothing to do with Robbie."

"She's here for the sins of her mother."

"My mother?" Fiona's face registered more pain.

"Oh, not the sainted Flora Mckendrick."

"I don't understand."

"Your birth mother."

_My birth mother_? Fiona recalled some police gossip from years ago and started adding up two and two to get five. "Dr. Hobson, are you my birth mother?"

"No, Fiona, I'm not your mother." She sighed. "I do have a child about your age, a son." A picture of Fiona's biological father formed in Laura's mind.

"You two will stay here under the watchful eye of my driver. I have a phone call to make." The 'driver' brandished a gun.

Under her breath Fiona muttered, "Your goon, you mean."

* * *

><p>Robbie and James had set up a command center at the hospital. Working with the hospital security staff they found that several of the CCTV cameras had been disabled. There was no footage found with either Laura or Fiona from that afternoon.<p>

Uniformed officers were sent to Ellen Jacoby's house only to find it empty. She was not at work. James finally confirmed her location after speaking with several of her colleagues.

James shouted out, "We've located Dr. Jacoby."

Robbie stopped his phone call mid-sentence, "Is Laura with her?"

"Not likely. She's in Zurich for the conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Been there since Sunday night."

They had been barking up the wrong tree.

"Have Gansa describe the 'friend' to a sketch artist right away."

James and Robbie studied the likeness of Laura's visitor.

"Now who does that remind me of? James had never trusted this woman.

"It can't be. She wouldn't hurt anyone. What would she want with Laura?" Robbie shook his head. "And where is Innocent? She should be here by now."

Brad showed them his list of possible phrases in lieu of 'get well mission' . "Do any of these mean something?"

James, who read faster than Robbie, breezed through the list, bypassing such phrases as 'impel risen' and zeroed in on 'hotel prison'.

"I know where she is!"


	6. Chapter 6

"Thank-you Mr. and Mrs. McKendrick. We are doing everything we can to find your daughter."

Jean Innocent left the distraught couple with a family liaison officer. As she stepped out into the hall, her phone rang.

She listened intently for a few minutes. "I'll be there, alone."

Jean stood outside the hotel that had once been a Victorian prison. She had not informed Lewis and Hathaway of her movements. Like DI Lewis, the action-y side of police work never appealed to her. Information from Robbie's several phone messages gave her an idea of what she was facing and how to proceed.

Fiona Mckendrick was lying on a bed in the hotel suite, moaning in pain. Laura had lost the argument that they send for an ambulance so Fiona could return to the hospital. Now tied to a chair, she was pretending to sleep while trying her best to stay alert. The man watching them was silent while the woman responsible for their situation kept muttering about betrayal and revenge.

An alarm sounded in the hotel. Shouts of 'Fire' could be heard.

"Ray, go out and see what's going on."

"What about that one? Want me to tie her up too?" He nodded toward Fiona.

In her sweet sounding deliberate voice she replied menacingly, "She won't be causing any trouble. I need to know if there really is a fire so we can evacuate. They can stay here. It will save us the trouble of getting rid of them later."

After determining that the door was not hot, Ray opened it slowly then marched out into the hall, gun in hand.

Laura heard the door slam shut and began planning how she and Fiona would escape if there really was a fire.

After several minutes Ray had not returned and the alarm continued to sound. Sirens were blaring as fire trucks pulled up in front of the Malmaison Hotel.

Robbie, James and a team of armed response officers also arrived and surrounded the building.

After a preliminary search of the premises they found an unarmed Roy Albert Hardwick, alias Ray Hanson, lying unconscious in one of the elevators. No witnesses could be found to explain how he got there.

Robbie and James had the manager show them the room assignments and made their way to the one where they hoped they would find Laura and Fiona.

Robbie banged on the door. "Police, open up."

They could hear shouting from inside. "You're going to have to force the door."

He moved out of the way for one of the officers to break open the door. After they entered Robbie pointed toward the woman tied to the chair and shouted to James, "Get her out of there."

Robbie headed straightaway for the person who was covered in blood and standing over Fiona Mckendrick.

"No Robbie, stay back."

He kept going.

"Robbie, I mean it. Fiona's life depends on it." Robbie stopped. "One of her incisions burst open. I'm holding it together until the ambulance gets here." Dr. Laura Hobson was using her hands in lieu of a surgical clamp.

Robbie watched as blood kept trying to spurt at Laura while she applied continued pressure to Fiona's abdomen. He would have to rescue her later.

Meanwhile James approached the woman now tied to a chair with bed sheets.

"Hello Mrs. Turnball."

"I want Robbie not you."

Diane Turnball was untied and led out by two constables. Down near the main entrance to the hotel, Ray Hanson could be heard telling DI Anderson that Diane Turnball had blackmailed him into helping her kidnap the two woman, that she threatened to have him sent back to prison.

As Diane was led past Hanson, she muttered, "Et tu, Brute?"

Anderson was attempting to locate Chief Superintendent Jean Innocent to make a report.

Fiona was sputtering, trying to speak. Laura's endeavor to quiet her was in vain.

"Dr. Hobson, I'm glad you are not my birth mother." She winced in pain. "It's not you. It's me. I don't want to know who she is. I am not one for looking back." She gasped for breath and then lay still.

The paramedics arrived and working with Dr. Hobson they stabilized Fiona and transported her back to the hospital.

Her work done, Robbie finally was able to make his way over to Laura. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Robbie, you'll get blood all over your suit."

"I don't care. I want you all over my suit."

"Robbie, this is a crime scene. They need to collect evidence."

DI Anderson approached them and Robbie reluctantly let go. Someone gave Laura a towel so she could wipe some of the blood off her hands.

"Dr. Hobson, if you would just answer a few questions now you can go and make a full statement later. I'll have PC Lockhart bag up your clothes and find you something else to wear."

Laura let her blood stained hands hover over Robbie's chest. "I'm fine Robbie. Let me get this over with then you can take me home."

While Laura briefly told Anderson what happened Robbie spoke with the manager of the Malmaison.

"Laura, the hotel is giving you a room to use to shower and change." He held out a key.

Laura hesitated and trembled slightly. Her bravado was fading.

Robbie kept the key in his hand and put his arm around her. "C'mon, I'll help you get cleaned up."

As Laura let Robbie lead her down the hall to a vacant room relief started to wash over her until she was reminded of the boy in the photograph. She stopped and gripped the lapels of his jacket.

"Robbie, you need to make sure Jack is okay."

He slipped his hands around her waist until they met at the small of her back. "He's fine. I talked to his mother earlier today."

"His mother?" Laura was horrified as she recalled the face of Medea.

"Yeah, Lyn said he made you a card. She's put it in the post for you."

Laura furrowed her brow. "Lyn…Jack's your grandson?"

"Technically." Robbie laughed. "He much prefers you though, says you're more fun what with how the pair of you go off in the garden collecting bugs and rocks." He tightened his hold on her. "What's this about?"

PC Lockhart arrived, her arms full.

"Dr. Hobson, I got you some scrubs and disinfectant soap from the forensics van. Inspector Lewis, I have some for you too sir."

"Thanks Julie."

Robbie took back the hand with the key and moved the other one up around her shoulders. As he unlocked the door and ushered Laura in, PC Lockhart deposited the bundle on a chair and cleared her throat. "DI Anderson asked me to look after Dr. Hobson. If she needs anything I'll be within shouting distance sir." She went back out into the hall closing the door behind her.

Robbie led Laura into the bathroom and started wiping blood off her.

"Robbie you are going to ruin the hotel's towels."

"They won't be bothered about them."

He turned the water on in the shower and started helping her off with the soiled clothes. He recalled the times he had done this when she came home from a middle of the night call out, then realized she wouldn't remember that. Hesitating, he took his hands back.

Laura misread his actions. "Sorry, the blood, is it making you uncomfortable?"

"No, not that. It's just well, is this all right with you?" He waved his hands around her.

"Robbie, according to you, we live together now. Our bodies aren't strangers then, are they?"

"Um no, but you don't remember."

"As long as you do, what does it matter?" _I want you to remind me._

Laura got in the shower grateful to wash off the remains from the day. Robbie shed his suit and shirt and cleaned up the best he could. He sorted out the scrubs and left the small set in the bathroom for her.

Laura emerged from the bathroom looking as she usually did on a work day except for the tousled damp hair and bare feet. She gaped at Robbie.

He could feel her eyes on him. "What?"

While the green color of the scrubs always looked natural on Laura, it was garish on Robbie.

"Cor! Can you turn down the volume on that shirt?"

"This is what happens when you let me dress myself." Robbie noticed her eyes twinkle in a familiar fashion.

They each took a few steps to fill up the space between them until they were nearly touching.

Her hands clean now, Laura rested them on his chest.

Robbie took her face in his hands and bent down to kiss her as she reached up to put her arms around his neck.

For a moment they forgot about everything else going on in the world.

The siren of a police car brought them back to reality.

"Laura, we should get you back to the hospital."

"No Robbie, I am going home, not to the hospital."

"But…"

"Stop fussing Robbie." She released her hold on his neck.

He gently rested his hands on her shoulders. "I wanted to do something, be the one to rescue you. Let me do that now and make sure you are properly taken care of."

"What I need is not at the hospital." She fixed him with a determined look and slid her hands down into his green scrubs.

"Laura…the doctors said we shouldn't…until you get your memory back." He traced the edge of her mouth with his finger.

"Are you going to finally rescue me or not?" Her hands kept moving.

Robbie groaned. "I'm not good at saying no to you."

"Then don't be good at it now."

Bradley Hobson and Angus Rawbone had been waiting a short distance away from the hotel. DI Anderson sent his sergeant to bring them to meet James who was arranging for them to see Laura after the crime scene was secure.

The assistant manager of the Malmaison gave James a key to a spare room.

"Brad, you and Dr. Rawbone can wait in here while I collect Laura. I expect she will be almost finished giving her statement."

PC Lockhart nodded as the three men walked past her.

James unlocked and opened the door, then turned on the light. He entered the room and detected movement and sound. He blushed, and said "Oh God, sorry!" James turned around intending to usher the others out. He was too late.

Brad had not expected to see his sister like this and turned to look at something else. "James, squash score none learnt."

Dr. Angus Rawbone chuckled. "I suppose it would be redundant to suggest that they should get a room."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Let me know if Brad's rhyme is not clear. :-)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Apologies for the delay of this chapter. We lost power and internet because of heavy wet snow.**

* * *

><p>"I am so happy to be home." Laura walked around her house pausing to touch things along the way. She picked up a colourful rock from a shelf and gazed at it fondly, turning it around and around. A lovely memory surfaced.<p>

"Jack painted this for me."

Robbie had been hovering behind her. "Yes, he did. You found it for him in the garden."

"It's one of the nicest presents I've ever received." She gently put it back.

Not for the first time Robbie was filled with admiration for Laura and her appreciation of the important things in life.

Upstairs Laura looked around the bedroom.

Robbie was opening the wardrobe and taking something out. He handed her some unfamiliar pyjamas.

"These are the ones you wear when you are really tired and want a good night's sleep. You must need them tonight."

After she put them on Laura went over to the wardrobe and surveyed the shelves. Some items were familiar, some were not. She inspected a few that were of particular interest.

"Um, I got you those."

"I see." She smiled at him. "I hope I thanked you for them."

"Oh yeah." Robbie cleared his throat. "Where do you want me to sleep tonight, here or in the spare room?"

"Where do you usually sleep?"

"Here, with you. Well, after what happened this afternoon I wasn't sure."

"I don't know why I wouldn't want to do that again, although next time I could do without the audience."

Robbie tried to conceal his amusement. "It was a step up from snogging in front of them in the pub."

Laura's face brightened. "I remember! After you showed me that James and Jean were watching I was embarrassed and said something nonsensical, now what was it…"She closed her eyes. "James, squash score none learnt."***** Laura grinned. "Oh sorry, that's how Brad would rhyme it, anyway here's to another good memory."

She took his hand and led him over to the bed. "Tonight though, I really do need to sleep. Having you next to me will be most welcome." She stopped at the edge of the bed. "Which side do you sleep on?"

"The left."

She climbed on the bed and made her way over to the right. "Okay so this is my side."

"Well, not exactly." She looked a question at him. "You kind of just take over the middle and Monty sleeps on the right side."

On cue Monty jumped up on the right side of the bed.

Laura snuggled down in the bed between Robbie and the cat.

"This is comforting and a bit familiar. Does Monty stay in with us all night?"

"Usually. He does know when to make himself discreet."

"Unlike James, you mean?"

Robbie laughed. "Yeah, he's been interrupting us for years, although today he took it to a new level."

Laura yawned. "It's good to be home, with you." She put her hand on his chest and kissed him on the check. "Goodnight Robbie."

He kissed the top of her head. "Pleasant dreams, luv."

Laura was so tired it did not take long for her to fall asleep.

"Well done, Doctor."

"What?"

"You handled the real life Medea and her Brutus."

"Not on my own Morse. I had help."

"Yes, Jean Innocent and her daughter are formidable women. Now you can get back to solving the mystery."

"So I can get my memory back?"

"Yes. I have a clue to help you understand Medea." He handed her a piece of paper.

Laura tried to make sense of his writing. "I don't understand."

"Get Lewis to help you. Goodnight Doctor."

Laura bolted upright in bed and relief washed over her as she heard some familiar snoring on one side and purring on the other.

"Robbie, wake up!" She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him.

"What's wrong?"

"Morse gave me a clue. He said you could help me with it. I need something to write on, quickly before I forget." Laura reached over to the nightstand and grabbed one of the cards she received since her episode in the bunker.

Robbie got up and took a pen out of his suit jacket that was hanging on the back of a chair and handed it to her.

Laura recreated Morse's clue on the back of the card.

relga rpatce

rveeadonu

They both stared at the letters.

Laura considered the possibilities. "It looks like a word puzzle, either a cryptogram where you substitute each letter with another, or an anagram."

"Anagram, that's where you rearrange the letters?"

"Yes."

"Morse liked to do those. Try that first."

"Well the first part must be two words." She tapped the pen on her temple. 'large carpet'

"Whatever that means. What about the second part?"

Laura spent a few minutes trying out different combinations of the letters. Well, I can't get one word out of it, let me try two." 'around eve'

"Now I know why Morse said I could help." Robbie took the pen and wrote 'Endeavour' then said, "That's Morse's first name."

"Endeavour?"

"Yeah, poor bugger."

"What does it mean?"

"Well, just that it is an anagram instead of a cryptogram I suppose."

"I need to figure out how it relates to Medea."

Laura fell back to sleep pondering the meaning of a large carpet. Robbie stayed awake and watched over her, worried that Morse's dream messages were doing more harm than good.

Robbie was up shortly after dawn the next morning. He made coffee and started cooking eggs and bacon. Laura woke up to the enticing aroma and realizing she was hungry made her way down the stairs unaware that Robbie had admitted an early morning visitor.

Laura caught sight of Robbie in the kitchen, having just poured some coffee and setting the mug on the table. Fueled by the memory of the scene in the pub she headed straight for him, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It took Robbie a moment to react before he moved his arms around her waist and responded to her kiss.

She broke off the kiss only to take the time to say, "I've been thinking about doing that all night."

Robbie responded, "Same here", and kissed her back. Finally he turned his head to signal that they had a visitor.

"Morning."

Laura followed the direction Robbie indicated to see Jean Innocent sitting at the table with a mug of coffee.

Not nearly as embarrassed as she was on previous occasions when they were interrupted, Laura smiled and simply said, "Hi".

Robbie poured Laura a mug of coffee and suggested she and Jean go talk in the other room while he finished getting breakfast ready.

Seated on the sofa with their mugs of coffee and knowing they only had a few minutes to speak privately they got right to it.

"Are you all right Laura?"

"Yes, I'm fine. And Fiona is going to be fine too. She's a fighter." Laura wanted to clear up some details from yesterday. "It appears that after someone pulled the fire alarm Ray Hanson went out to investigate. He was bashed on the head by an unknown assailant and knocked unconscious."

"Yes, that is in DI Anderson's report."

"Has he discovered who was responsible?"

"No, the evidence was inconclusive."

"So a random attacker disarmed and knocked unconscious Roy Albert Hardwick, alias Ray Hanson, former British Army SAS?"

"Yes, it's a pity there were no witnesses."

"Hmm, interesting." Laura took a sip of coffee. "And there was no fire in the hotel either…"

"Meanwhile you were able to untie yourself and subdue Diane Turnball."

"I had help. By silent agreement Fiona and I had been exaggerating the gravity of her condition. After Ray left the room we both knew it was the time to act."

Jean nodded. "Go on."

"My broken hospital identification bracelet proved to be a useful tool to getting untied. Fiona was watching me all the while making noises to distract Diane." Laura took a sip of her coffee. "Even injured, Fiona was a star. Once a copper, always a copper I suppose." She looked at Jean. "It's in her blood."

"Then you saved Fiona's life."

"To coin a phrase, she held it together until things were well in hand."

"It just proves that we don't always need men to rescue us."

"And that we don't always follow proper procedure."

"Are you suggesting that Chief Superintendent Innocent tampered with a crime scene?"

"It's not for me to say."

"Even to Robbie?"

"He may have his suspicions. As it's not his case and he's happy with the outcome I doubt he will voice them."

"You and Fiona are safe. That's all that matters. If there are consequences I will deal with them.

"There is something else I need to tell you while we are alone."

Jean set her coffee down. "I'm listening."

"Fiona told me that she does not want to know the identity of her birth mother. You are going to have to respect that."

"I…yes, of course." She frowned. "That's disappointing but not surprising. She never was one to look back was our Fiona. Since she was assigned to the Met no one in Oxford has heard from her." Jean was reminded of the dinner where she announced Fiona's promotion and how proud she was of her protegee. Only Jean and later Laura knew Fiona's true identity.

Robbie called out 'Ready' so Jean and Laura picked up their mugs and headed back to the kitchen. On the way Laura briefly told Jean about Morse appearing in her dreams and leaving confusing clues.

"That man has a lot to answer for."

Later in the day Brad and James came to visit Laura while Robbie went out to do the shopping and other errands.

Brad and James each sheepishly apologized for the scene at the hotel the day before. Laura noticed that they both avoided looking her in the eye. Brad escaped by offering to make tea for everyone. James busied himself by getting out the chessboard.

His errands completed, Robbie went to visit Clare Gansa in her care home. He quietly walked in the room while Alex Gansa was reading to his wife. While he didn't like Gansa, Robbie had to admire his dedication. Robbie often wondered what he would have done if that was Val and always came up with the same answer. He would have gone on reading too.

Alex Gansa was reading _The Jumblies _aloud. He got to the part where to keep their feet dry they wrapped them in 'a pinky paper all folded neat' and spoke to his wife as if she could hear him. "Isn't that silly Clare? Why didn't they wrap them in a large carpet or a big mat?"

_Large carpet or big mat_? Something resonated in Robbie's brain and he could hear Morse's voice saying, 'Just get on with it, Lewis' and he shook his head. He stepped back out in the hall. "Damn you Morse, why didn't you say what you really meant?" Robbie decided he needed to think like Morse so he went to the pub. He would come back and visit Clare Gansa another time.

Brad was still in the kitchen making tea while Laura was unpacking a bag of her things from the hospital. The last item was the owl James had given her. She set it on the table where James was setting up the chess pieces.

James put the last pawn in place. "Shakespeare played chess with his friend and fellow playwright Ben Jonson. Instead of calling the game _Chess_ they renamed it _The_ _King's_…"

Brad entered the room with the tea tray and spied the owl next to the chess board.

"Laura, the owl, it's…"

The front door opened. Robbie couldn't wait to share his discovery and shouted, "Laura, it's not a large carpet, it's a BIG MAT."

* * *

><p><strong>*Further apologies (except to Muffinzelda, who enjoyed it!) for the confusing rhyme of 'gosh you're sunburnt' in the previous chapter, especially considering that English is not the first language for many of you. Thanks to LewisHobsonFan for reminding me. I promise to explain BIG MAT.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Robbie, Brad, and James were all talking at once. Laura couldn't make sense of what they were saying. "Stop!" She put her hands over her ears. "One at a time."

All three chorused. "Sorry Laura."

She looked at the men in her life and decided to go in order of who spoke first. "James you were saying something about Shakespeare playing chess?"

"Yes, only he called it The King's Gambit." He saw how anxious Brad and Robbie were to speak. "That's it."

She nodded to her brother. "Brad, what did you want to say about the owl?"

Brad set the tea tray down and moved closer to his sister. "To tell you that he looks just like Gambit, the one you lost."

Memories suppressed long before her time in the bunker swirled in her brain. Laura whispered, "I know. It is Gambit."

James look puzzled and picked up the owl. "His name is Ambi, see it's on the tag."

Brad took the owl from James and scrutinized the tag. "It's Gambit. Laura wrote it herself at age 5. The 'T' is absorbed in the seam as she ran out of room at the end. She loved it so much she used to rub her fingers on the tag and wore the 'G' off." He held the tag out so they all could see. "This was her favorite toy. She practiced medicine on all her dolls and cuddly animals. Some even were the victims of autopsies. Not this one; he was special."

Laura held her hands out and Brad placed the owl in them. "I chose his name because you won the chess tournament using the 'Hobbs Gambit'. I used to take him everywhere with me, until…"

Brad had an idea of what happened to Gambit. "My first year away at college was the year you…" Brad took Laura's elbow and guided her over to the sofa.

Laura sat down, swallowed, and took a couple of deep breaths. Brad usually had more trouble talking about this than she did. "I…got pregnant." Laura did not want to go into any more detail with James present. She shuddered and while Robbie wanted to hold her, he let Brad do it, as he was there for this part of Laura's past.

Brad sat down next to his sister and put his arm around her. "Laura, you brought Gambit to the hospital when you went into labor, didn't you?"

"Yes. He was the only one I ever told the whole story to. The nurse that was with me was so nice; she understood why I brought him. Knowing that I was going to have to give James up, I asked her to make sure that Gambit went with him. She said she would but I never knew for sure what would happen when his adoptive parents took him home." She lovingly stroked the owl. "I heard someone else say that the adoptive parents would likely toss him in the bin." She muffled a sob. "I lost both of them. I clung to the hope that they would stay together."

James sat down on the other side of Laura on the sofa. "They made sure I got him and told me he was from someone very special. I had other cuddly toys but none that I cared for, just this owl. Of course all these years I thought he was called Ambi." He smiled. "I talked to him often; he understood me and got me through some difficult days. After what happened I wanted to share him with you."

Laura sighed. "I don't remember what happened; only I know you were there James and I've got the feeling I did something terrible."

"No, I'm sure it wasn't like that." James shook his head. "I was out for most of it so I can't help you. Even if I could, Rawbone says it's best you remember on your own."

Brad was watching Robbie pace back and forth. He gave up his spot next to Laura on the sofa so that Robbie could sit down and tell her something.

"Laura, the clue from Morse, a large carpet, it makes sense now. It was something I overheard when I went to visit Clare Gansa today, that a large carpet can also be called a big mat." Robbie took a napkin from the pub out of his pocket where he had written BIG MAT. "Take the letters and rearrange them into one word and you get this." He pointed at what was underneath. GAMBIT

Robbie took both of her hands in his. "Laura, the owl's name is Gambit, James said Shakespeare called chess The King's Gambit, and now Morse's clue leads us to Gambit. That has to be the key to finding out the real reason Medea killed her children." He wasn't sure whether to silently thank Morse or curse him. "Then maybe you will get your memory back."

James, as was his habit, gave a short lecture on the word gambit. "In chess a gambit is an opening in which a player makes a sacrifice, typically of a pawn, for the sake of some compensating advantage. Otherwise it means a device, action, or opening remark, typically one entailing a degree of risk, that is calculated to gain an advantage."

If Robbie, Brad, and James expected Laura to magically recover her memory from this clue, they were mistaken.

After a few minutes of silence, Laura could tell they were awaiting her revelation of all the answers. The pressure was starting to annoy her. She took her hands back from Robbie. "Why are you just sitting there looking at me like dogs waiting to be shown a card trick? Why should that mean anything to me?" Her already red-rimmed eyes filled with tears as she collapsed into Robbie's chest.

"Sorry Laura. I'm calling for backup." Brad took out his phone and went into the kitchen to call Dr. Rawbone.

Robbie held her gently and told her, "There's no hurry. It's just that I want you to remember us."

James stood up, and then sat back down. "Laura when you are ready I know what we should do with that clue."

"James, maybe now is not the time."

After a few minutes, Laura sat up and said, "Robbie, I need to do this now whether I'm ready or not." She saw Robbie's doubtful face. "Stop fussing, Robbie."

"Okay, but let me be here with you." She nodded then looked a bit unsure. To steady herself she threw her arms about Robbie's neck and kissed him. She released him and breathlessly told James, Now I'm ready."

James cleared his throat. "We need to go back to Ancient Greece, to the source of the story."

Robbie frowned, "Euripides?"

"No. Herodotus. For the first time in my life I wish I went to Oxford instead of Cambridge." James went over the desk and picked up Laura's laptop. "May I?" Laura nodded as James went online to find _Herodotus' History of the Persian War_. He brought the computer over to the sofa so the three of them could all see.

Laura recognized the beginning pages. "I never finished reading it and didn't find the part about Medea."

"Let's do a search on Gambit and Medea." After a minute of waiting anxiously there were no records found. "I'll bring up the original, not the translation."

Robbie was skeptical, "In Greek, you can read that?"

"When in Rome…"

The three of them stared at the screen. Brad came out of the kitchen and told them that Dr. Rawbone was on his way over, then perched on the arm of the sofa. "Why don't you find the Greek word for gambit and search backwards?"

James opened up a translation website. GAMBIT = αρχική κίνηση

After a minute of searching in Greek, two results were found. They stared at the Ancient Greek letters on the first stop. "Now to translate the Greek to English." James entered the text. 'Rather than surrender and face certain torture and death, commanders ordered their solders to kill each other quickly until only one was left who would kill himself.' James stopped reading aloud. A rather grisly description followed of the methods of torture and death.

Laura was the only one not visibly shaken by that. She was at home with death. While she abhorred suffering, once it was over Laura could move on from it and tend to the dead. "Now see if you can find a link between gambit and Medea." She had an idea. "She may be called 'Jason's wife' instead of her name. Women were often identified merely as someone's daughter or wife."

James went to the second result where they found αρχική κίνηση and what it meant to Jason's wife, Medea. Once again James copied a lengthy portion of the text into the translator.

James finished reading it first and launched into an explanation. "Bypassing the complexities of Greek drama and getting right to the heart of the matter, Medea learned that her children were going to be stoned to death by the Corinthians. She proclaimed 'If they must die in any case, I the mother that bore them will give the fatal blow.' That certainly puts a new light on things." James turned away from the screen to see Laura putting her head in her hands as he formed a conclusion. "So Medea killed her children because it was the lesser of two evils, painful death and painless death."

Laura was overcome with nausea as the scene in the bunker pieced itself together in her mind.

Robbie felt her shiver. "What is it, Laura? What do you need from us?"

She brushed some imagined dirt away from her face and starting taking shallow breaths as the air in the room seemed to be in short supply.

"I need to talk to James, just James."

* * *

><p><strong>Merry Christmas everyone! Whichever holiday you celebrate I hope you and yours will be safe and happy. Thank-you for your extensions of friendship and kindness, the best gifts ever.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Brad and Robbie sat in the kitchen while Laura and James went out in the garden.

In an attempt to distract them from worrying about what was going on, Robbie asked Brad about his wife and children.

"They're fine. Carole couldn't come with me this trip because she has to take her mother to chemotherapy treatments for lung cancer." They both glanced out the window to see James having a cigarette.

"And the twins?"

"Both settling in at university." Brad went on to tell Robbie things he already knew. "Brian wants to be an engineer while Caroline plans to follow in Laura's footsteps and go into medicine, although with live patients. Laura has been very supportive." Brad showed Robbie some pictures on his phone.

"Caroline looks just like her mother."

"Yeah, but she has Laura's personality. Carole and I say the same thing about her that our parents said about Laura. If she's smiling, she's thinking about doing something daring, if she's laughing, she's already done it." He frowned. "Of course she changed, after James was born. She became more serious and wouldn't let anyone get close to her."

"Still doesn't sometimes." Robbie knew her well.

"Robbie, I'm glad you two are together. I didn't always feel that way." He shifted in his chair. "She was happy with Franco for some time. He was a work colleague I quite liked and he offered her the world. Typical Laura, she told him she had her own world. Only later did I find out what that meant." He gave Robbie an appraising look. "You were her world."

"It took some time for us both to admit it. One night we shared a Chinese takeaway and both got the same fortune. 'Those who act like they don't need love, are the ones that need it the most.' That started a conversation we had been avoiding, one we needed to have."

"The circumstances of her pregnancy at such a young age made it difficult for her to trust anyone."

Robbie asked Brad what he knew about the Maths teacher from Laura's past.

"In school, we all heard the rumors about him and young girls. As we were immature teenage boys we laughed about it. If I had told someone then, got them to investigate, maybe it never would have happened to my sister."

Robbie was aware of more sordid situations than he cared to remember. This wasn't just a case though, this was Laura's life, and it produced a son.

"How then do you tell James that you wished he never happened?"

Brad did not know how to respond to that and merely shook his head. The bell rang and he got up to admit Dr. Rawbone.

Robbie went to get a teacup for the doctor then changed his mind and opened a bottle of whiskey and got out three glasses.

Brad led Rawbone into the kitchen explaining how they learned the real motive of Medea and that just as Morse predicted, it prompted Laura into regaining her memory.

Rawbone nodded. "The mind chooses to forget rather than deal with the stress of a situation. Learning that her comparison to the mythical Medea wasn't valid relieved that stress."

The three men sat and drank in silence.

Laura and James walked around the perimeter of the back garden. James stopped at the farthest corner to have a cigarette. Laura waited until he was done then asked him to sit down on the chairs by the small table. Up to then she used the silence between them to process the memories that were quickly awakening in her mind.

"James, there's no easy way to tell you this." She put both hands on the table. "I was planning to kill you."

James traced a circle on the table with his index finger. This fit in with the clues he had been gathering. One of the ambulance attendants disclosed the contents of the pockets on Laura's crime scene suit. He did not respond immediately and could see hopelessness in Laura's eyes. "You are just this side of Medea then." He touched her arm. "That's not a bad thing. I was wrong about her."

Laura exhaled a bushel of air. "She chose the lesser of two evils for her children. I spent my time in that bunker calculating what would cause you the least amount of suffering if we weren't going to survive." She covered his hand with hers. "It was the most difficult diagnosis I ever had to make. There was so much at risk if I was wrong. Luckily, we were rescued before I had to make any decisions." She blinked trying to focus on the present instead of the past. "It was overwhelming. I was nagged by doubts that you would approve. I know how you feel about death; you don't believe it's ever right to interfere."

"Just because I am uncomfortable with it, doesn't make it wrong." He smiled. "No one has ever offered to do that for me before."

"I wish I could have offered you something else, other than the childhood you had."

James pulled out his cigarettes with his free hand, shook the pack, looked at Laura and put it back in his pocket and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "Can we finish talking about the hours in the bunker another time. There is something I need to ask."

"Okay."

"Laura, I need to update my personnel file. The Reverend Kennedy advised me to select someone younger and Fiona…well she and I have not spoken since she left Oxford." James had questions about Fiona's link to Diane Turnball but would reserve them for another time. He suspected Laura knew something about it.

"Your personnel file?"

"Yes, I need someone who will agree to be called if something happens to me. It is preferable that the person be a relative."

"James, are you asking me to be your emergency contact person?"

He nodded. "Yes, that is what I am asking."

"Of course I will."

James ducked his head and mumbled something that sounded like 'thanks...um'.

Laura heard that and shook her head. She realized he was still very uncomfortable with this new dimension to their relationship and she was still reeling from the rush of memories, both terrifying and pleasant. She did not want to think about her next move, lest she talk herself out of it.

James was surprised when Laura got up and stood behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders. He was tense at first then relaxed while she let her head rest against his. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Laura remembered another thing that needed to be sorted and pulled away.

Still behind him she said, "James, there is something else. You may not forgive me for this."

"What?" Could there be something less forgivable than interfering with death? He turned to face her.

"I never told you about your sister."


	10. Chapter 10

"Thank-you Anderson. I'll read your full report tomorrow." Jean Innocent put her phone down and sighed. This was something that was not going to be easy to deal with. DI Anderson told her that Diane Turnbull was planning to release a statement to the press about the decades old and very brief relationship between her husband Nicky and the current Oxford Police Chief Superintendent. This isn't how she wanted Fiona to find out; especially as Laura told her Fiona did not want to know anything about her birth mother.

Trying to follow the letter of the law, Jean took some time drafting a letter, one that she hoped Fiona would understand.

Fiona's mother was at the hospital tidying up her daughter's things, getting ready for her to go home the next day. She bent down and picked up several items out of the bin.

"Fiona, I wish you hadn't thrown away these lovely cards you received. They could brighten up your room at home. Your dad and I are so happy you will spend a week with us while you recover."

Fiona didn't usually like her mother to fuss. She allowed it this time as she could see what an ordeal this all was for Flora McKendrick, first the car accident, then the kidnapping. Fiona closed her eyes as she processed the facts she had learned recently. Nicky Turnbull, the murdered criminal computer hacker turned celebrity, was her biological father. Fiona was kidnapped in lieu of her mother, who was too difficult to catch according to Diane. Obviously she must be in Oxford and was a powerful woman. It wasn't Dr. Hobson as she thought that day in the hotel suite, although she had the nagging suspicion that the pathologist knew more than she was saying. Well, she always said she did not want to know anything about her biological mother. Did she really mean that? She opened her eyes to sneak a look at the woman who raised her.

As she sealed the envelope and tucked it into her purse, Jean wished she could talk to Laura. This would have been easier with help from someone who understood. Knowing that her friend was busy battling her own demons Jean stopped off at the pub before going home to have a serious talk with her husband and son. The pub was quite full and she almost turned around and walked out until she spied a single seat available at the end of the bar.

"Is this seat taken? Oh, hello. You're…Laura's friend?"

"Yes, Ellen Jacoby. And the seat is free, I'm still a sad and lonely singleton, I'm afraid." She blushed. "You're the police chief or something aren't you? Do you know how Laura is? I heard she had an accident and I was hoping to check on her."

"I'm Jean Innocent. Laura is continuing to recover. It's complicated but rest assured she's in good hands now."

"That's a relief. I'm just back from Zurich and haven't even been home, wanting to check on Laura but found she had been released from the hospital. I didn't go straight round to her house because her brother is there and he's never really liked me. I called Alec to see if he would meet me here but as usual I was wasting my time."

Jean had a good memory for names. "Alec Pickman?"

"The one and only. It's a good thing too, one of him is enough."

"And yet, you still want to see him?"

"I've always been a bad picker of men."

Jean made a face. "We have something in common then."

"Surely you haven't ever been as silly as me."

Jean ordered a glass of wine for herself and another one for Ellen.

"Everyone has regrets, even me, especially me." Jean always observant, noticed Ellen's red-rimmed eyes and tense muscles in her face. "Everything all right?"

Ellen was eager to confide in this woman, who appeared so in control. "Along with my decades old obsession with Alec, I've been sitting here feeling remorseful about something else, to do with Laura."

"Does she know?"

"I'm not sure. If Laura knows then she is a very forgiving person. If she doesn't know I should tell her. I just never had the courage."

Jean sipped her wine. "You can practice on me if you like. I'm not looking forward to going home and would welcome a distraction." Jean did not promise to keep her confidence.

Before she lost her nerve Ellen blurted out, "Many years ago, a friend used Laura's name when she was admitted to hospital and give birth to twins. She asked me never to tell Laura."

Jean set her glass down. "It's complicated when one friend asks you to keep a secret from another." She stared reproachfully at Ellen. "You're talking about Ligeia Willard. That deception almost got you and Laura both murdered."

"I know."

"Ligeia is dead and her secret is out. Yours may come out too."

"But I never told anyone that I knew, not even Alec."

"And now you have told me. Three people can keep a secret only if two of them are dead."

Ellen opened her mouth in surprise. "I'd never kill anyone, even to keep a secret."

"Don't worry; I would never let you kill me."

"Are you going to tell Laura?"

"No, it's better if you tell her. And it wouldn't surprise me if she has already figured it out."

Their attention was drawn to the entrance as a drunken Alec Pickman entered.

Jean got up out of her seat with one last piece of advice for Ellen.

"Learn from your past mistakes and move on."

Robbie, his eye still focused on the scene in the back garden, deduced from their body language that the progress made between Laura and James had begun to unravel.

James was sure he did not hear correctly. "My sister?"

"Yes."

James knew that when he was born Laura lost a lot of blood and almost died. He recalled the photo Brad showed him of Laura's twin niece and nephew and formed his own conclusion.

"Are you telling me that I had a twin, that she didn't survive, that I…killed her?" James being James always believed everything was his fault. "Is this a memory that just came back to you?" He was torn between concern for her well being and anger at being kept in the dark about something this important.

"No James, this is something I could have told you before today."

Not wanting to say something in anger, he got out of his chair and stalked off towards the house.

"Wait, James."

James stopped and lit a cigarette. "For what, more half-truths?"

"You are not listening."

"You are not explaining." He exhaled some smoke. "To use your expression, you were always crap at communicating."

"I know. That's one reason I hadn't told you. I didn't want to just throw it out there and walk away. I do that to Robbie frequently."

"I don't know why he puts up with it."

"He does it because…look James can we talk about Robbie another time? This is important. You need to understand."

"Perhaps I would understand if you stopped talking in Morse code."

"James, your sister-"

He interrupted her. "What, didn't survive the birth because I was so big and smothered her? Is that what you are trying to say?" He looked horrified as he formed a picture in his mind of the image of his dead twin. "You wanted to spare me the guilt?" She must have carried the burden of the guilt for him all these years. How could he be angry with her for that?

"James, your sister is alive."

"My twin survived?" He did not want to lash out at her and tried to calm down.

"She's not your twin. You don't have a twin."

He gaped at her. "You mean you gave birth more than once?" All logic had escaped him at this point.

"No James, I'm not her mother. You share the same biological father. About two years ago she found me and gave me her history, before you and I acknowledged ours."

"I see." He lit another cigarette, this time just to annoy her. "Were you planning on introducing us? I'd like to meet her."

"You have met her."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks to madmother2 for helping me get Jean back into the story. <strong>


	11. Chapter 11

"He's a tosser!"

Jean Innocent stood looking out her front window, watching as the tail lights of her husband's white 4X4 disappeared out of sight. Her son banged his fist on the window.

"Chris, you shouldn't talk that way about your father."

"It's the truth Mum and you know it. He's using your revelation about Fiona as an excuse. He was planning to leave and wanted to make it your fault. We both know who is to blame."

"He has a right to be angry with me for never telling him about my past mistakes."

"It was a long time ago and you were very young." Chris knew all the station gossip. "Inspector Lewis didn't hold it against Dr. Hobson, that she had a child."

"The circumstances were different. Laura was completely innocent while I behaved rashly, including lying about my age."

"It doesn't matter. Dad is being unreasonable, always has been. I don't know why you put up with him all these years. You should have left him and found someone who made you happy."

"I was happy with our family."

Her answer led him to conclude that his suspicions were correct. "Mum, you stayed with dad to give me a family. You sacrificed your own happiness for me."

"It was important that you have an intact family, especially during those difficult years when you were a teenager. Statistics show that having a father in the house is important." _I did not have a father when I needed one._

Chris hugged his mother. "You sacrificed for both of your children. You gave Fiona up because you were not prepared to raise her alone and her father was a con man. You protected her from him." He let go and stood back. "And for me you lived with a man who didn't love you just to give me a full time father."

"I might have done."

"Now it's time for you to put yourself first."

* * *

><p>James was smoking the last of his cigarettes, while Laura fidgeted with her hands.<p>

"So how did you find out about her and why didn't you tell me?"

"Your sister went searching for her biological parents and got her mother's name from the adoption records. She learned from a family friend that her mother was sexually assaulted by her Maths teacher. By the time she discovered their identities, they were both dead."

"I know he died, you said someone shot him. How did her mother die and when?"

"I don't know and I did not ask. All she said was that her mother was able to inflict some injuries on him during the attack. That helped to get him charged with the crime. The injuries couldn't be concealed and the school authorities couldn't say that she lied about all of it."

"Let me guess. She didn't find her parents alive so she went looking for siblings, wanting to find some family." His other guess he did not say aloud. The school authorities accused Laura of lying.

"Yes, she searched public records for his other victims." Laura could not utter the man's name. "There was one document where my name wasn't redacted. I was a minor and should never have been identified. When she first called and told me what she wanted to know I told her she must have found the wrong Laura Hobson. Then I changed my mind and decided that she must need closure. She wanted to know what happened to my child. Her plan was that you could help each other cope with your shared circumstances."

"Help your brother's boat across, and your own will reach the shore." He saw Laura's questioning look. "Hindu Proverb."

"Something like that." Laura almost wished that she could have a cigarette. "I agreed to meet her. We set a place and time and I told her what I looked like. She said she already knew. By coincidence she had seen me at a crime scene and heard someone say my name."

"Crime scene...was I there?"

"Yes. I watched you speak with her and I could tell she fancied you and that the feeling was mutual. So it was a good thing I decided to tell her about you, before things went any further."

James went and sat down and drummed his fingers on the table. He wasn't sure how he felt about this revelation. "So that's why Liv Nash just sort of disappeared, as if I'd never met her."

"Yes. She was very upset." She hesitated. "James it wasn't because you and she had already…"

"No."

"Oh thank God." Relieved that James did not have incest added to his personal baggage Laura continued. "She asked me not to tell you and I agreed-"

"I'll decide what I need to know, not you."

"James, let me finish. I agreed on one condition, that she tell you herself when she was ready." Laura sighed. "I'm sorry James. I didn't know how long I should wait. That's why I am telling you today, because she never got back in touch with you."

"That's not true."

"Sorry?"

"She did call me about a year after I last saw her and asked to meet up, not saying what it was about."

"What happened?"

"Nothing. I didn't show up."

Laura face showed her surprise. "Why not?"

James really wished he had more cigarettes.

"Adam Tibbit."

Laura concentrated on the name. She knew it was familiar.

"The boy who you found…hanging in the school."

"Yes. I was supposed to meet Liv a couple of hours after that."

"Robbie and I were worried about you that night. We wanted you to come have dinner with us. You told Robbie you had plans."

"I didn't think it was right for me to go out and try and have a good time. I felt responsible for Adam's death. I was too hard on him when I questioned him."

"Robbie said there was another reason he killed himself, nothing to do with you."

James shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, I didn't show up and never heard from Liv again."

"She must have been disappointed if not devastated." Laura resisted telling him what he should do. She wanted to say, 'Help your sister's boat across, and you will reach your own shore.'

James could read her mind. "I should call her, apologize, and ask her if we can start over."

James and Liv weren't the only pair that needed to start over.

Laura nervously rubbed her hands together, worried that she had irreparably broken their relationship. "James, do you want to ask someone else to be your emergency contact person?"

He looked down at the ground then straightened up. "No, you are stuck with me. And I am stuck with you."

Laura exhaled and relaxed slightly. Her own words to Robbie a few years ago echoed in her mind. 'People don't know how you feel unless you tell them.'

She told him.

He listened.

Robbie, still keeping an eye out the window, could see Laura and James share a hug, then break apart a bit awkwardly.

* * *

><p>A few days later...<p>

"Fiona, you received more cards in the post today." Flora Mckendrick put a small stack of envelopes on the table next to her daughter's bed.

After her mother left the room Fiona started to open the envelopes. She quickly scanned a few cards and put them aside. She looked at one that had no heartfelt and sincere message, just a signature, _James Hathaway_. Why he needed to write his last name she did not know. Just _James_ would have been enough. Underneath all the cards was a letter. She did not recognize the scrawled handwriting. The letter contained rambling and seemingly unrelated sentences that appeared to be written by someone in a drunken stupor. One phrase caught her attention. 'Your mother is innocent.'


	12. Chapter 12

Fiona was up and moving around her childhood home the next day. Restless and wanting a breath of fresh air she opened the front door to collect the post. She went to the kitchen and handed her mother the bills and junk mail. She carried a slender envelope with her name on it off to the lounge.

Unlike the letter she received the day before, this one had familiar handwriting and a return address. Her mother came in and asked who the letter was from.

"Jean Innocent. You remember her, my former boss."

"Oh yes, I know who she is." She forced herself to smile.

"I should really be writing her a letter, to say thank-you for donating the blood I needed."

"She gave you life and for that I will forever be grateful." Flora Mckendrick hugged her daughter. "I'll leave you to read your letter. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

The letter began with a general inquiry into Fiona's health and recovery of the injuries sustained in the car accident. Then Jean expressed regret over the kidnapping that further aggravated her condition. She complimented Fiona on her ability to assist Dr. Hobson in subduing Diane Turnbull.

The second paragraph outlined Fiona's professional successes in Oxford. The Chief Superintendent stressed that Fiona had earned her promotion on merit. There were no special favors called in or strings pulled. There followed a summation of Fiona's achievements at Scotland Yard. It was the oddest get well message she had received, except for the unsigned letter yesterday, which never actually expressed a get well sentiment.

Fiona went up to room to take another look at it and reread the line 'your mother is innocent'. Usually she would just toss something like that in the bin and forget about it. Police officers were used to receiving unusual communications with threats, rants, and tirades. There was something about this letter that made her keep it. She decided the atrocious handwriting was familiar and closed her eyes trying to remember where she had seen it before. The image of a note on someone's kitchen table nagged at her. Fiona stretched out on her bed and tried to remember whose house she was in when she saw the note and nodded off, sleeping until her mother brought her dinner.

* * *

><p>Brad was going home the next day so Robbie and James give him some time alone with Laura while they sat in the pub. Earlier in the day Brad and James spent some time getting to know each other when Laura and Robbie were out looking for a new home. Robbie wasn't altogether comfortable living in her house and was happy that she was ready to go ahead with their plan to buy one together.<p>

James was always intrigued by Laura and Robbie's relationship even before he knew he was Laura's son. "So, did you find paradise?"

"The estate agent showed us several houses. They all looked about the same to me. All I want is a house we both own and live in."

"I imagine she has a bigger wish list."

"Oh yeah. Laura has computer images and graphs, that kind of thing. And she insists that I have input."

"Do you?"

"Of course. I said I wanted a two story house with a big garden and a patio."

James wasn't fooled. "You said that because you knew that's what she wants."

"I might have done."

He had to ask. "Why did she say that buying a house was the same commitment as marriage? Or more to the point, why won't she marry you?"

Robbie took a drink. "Haven't a clue. She says when I figure it out I can ask her again." He eyed James suspiciously. "Do you know something I don't?"

James stared into his drink. "I can only guess."

"Care to share that guess?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know."

"Would you rather talk about what you are going to do on your six month leave of absence?"

James shook his head. "I'm taking some time off to do some traveling is all. I'm not joining the foreign legion."

"I'm happy you told Laura about your plans. She appreciated it and believe me there is no way I'm going to get her to spill."

James wasn't worried that she would tell him. "With her lack of communication skills I figured secrets are safe with her."

"What do you mean by that?"

"You must know what I mean, the way she makes a statement or accusation and then just walks away without staying around to discuss it. She does it to you frequently."

"Yeah that." Robbie took a large sip of his drink. "Years ago she had something important to tell and there were people who didn't believe her."

James was sure he knew what the important thing was. "What people, her family?"

"No, they were supportive although found it difficult to talk about. It was school authorities who were anxious to shield a man who came from a politically well connected family. It's made her afraid to trust people. She speaks her mind but then is worried about the fallout."

"Even with you? She trusts you."

"That's why she does it to me. She feels safe, knows she can say whatever she wants and I'll still be there."

"Freud would say that's contradictory behaviour." James held up his nearly empty glass and tilted it back and forth. "And will you always still be there no matter what she says?"

Robbie looked directly at James. "Yes."

James put his glass down gently. "Good."

* * *

><p>"Thanks for coming Brad. It was nice having you here even if you do hover too much."<p>

Brad picked up Gambit, the owl. "I promised Dad that I'd always look after you even if you didn't want me to."

"He felt like he failed, that he should have protected me. It wasn't his fault."

"It wasn't your fault either." He handed Gambit to Laura.

"I know."

"Sometimes I don't think you believe that."

"It's getting better." Laura set Gambit on the chessboard they had used earlier.

"So is my guilt. Dad wasn't the only one who felt that he let you down."

"You should talk to Robbie about guilt." Laura rearranged the pieces on the board. "He's an expert."

"I find that it's easier now that we're older."

She punched his arm. "Speak for yourself."

"Hey, I'm not one of your patients. I can feel that."

She hugged him. "You'll be fine." _I'll be fine too._

* * *

><p>James was home packing for his trip. He called his traveling companion. "Are we all set then?"<p>

"Yes, thanks for inviting me. I've never been to Spain and I like long walks."


	13. Chapter 13

Flora Mckendrick sighed as she remade Fiona's bed, wondering when her daughter would be home again to sleep in it. While she was happy that Fiona was taking some time off from work after recovering from her injuries, she wished her headstrong daughter hadn't insisted on going on such an arduous journey.

* * *

><p>Laura and Robbie were settling into their newly purchased two story house with a patio and large garden. It also had a shed big enough for Laura's gardening supplies and Robbie's tools.<p>

"Robbie, where is your box of photos?" She set pictures of Caroline and Brian on the piano. "I want to put yours out here with mine."

Robbie went in the spare room and opened his box. He hadn't unpacked it at Laura's house, said since they were planning to move he would just have to put them away again. After looking them over, he selected just one and brought it downstairs and silently handed it to Laura.

Laura took the most recent picture of Jack and placed it next to the one of her nephew. "Where are the rest of them?"

"I didn't want to crowd too many on the piano and figured we would just display the youngest members of our families."

"There is plenty of room for Ken, Lyn, Tim, and Val. Surely you can find at least one of each." She saw his hesitation.

"Well, maybe the kids then."

"Robbie, how is Lyn going to feel when she comes here and finds that you have hidden her mother away in a box? Or were you planning to put her in the shed next to the wood glue?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "We don't have a problem talking about Val so why shouldn't her picture be here? You loved her and she was part of your life for more than 20 years and is the mother of your children."

"Laura, this is our house, our life now. You don't need to have her as a constant reminder. I thought I'd give Lyn all the pictures of Val, to share with Ken and Jack."

"If keeping Val away from me makes you happy, then go for it." She gathered up the three framed photos from the piano and stalked off.

* * *

><p>Fiona got a bit lost and ended up at the tiny chapel of Santa Irena on her way to Rua, the last village before Santiago de Compostela. As she stopped to admire the simple structure she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to ask the strangers if they could help her get back on the right road, "Excuse me, I seem to have made a detour…Oh, James, what are you doing here?" Fiona noticed how relaxed James appeared and then realized he wasn't alone as another woman came into view.<p>

"I could ask you the same thing. We started out 45 days ago with the goal of reaching the tomb of Saint James in another few days." He was astounded that so soon after her accident Fiona could make such a journey.

Fiona could read the questions on his face. "I started in Sarria, planning to walk only the last 115 km." She held out her hand to the other woman. "Fiona Mckendrick."

"Liv Nash." Liv could sense that Fiona and James must have some history. "I am James' sister."

Fiona did not bother to hide her surprise. "James, you never told me you had a sister."

"I wasn't told about her, until recently. It's a long story."

James and Fiona had known that each of them was raised by adoptive parents. They found a bench and sat and chatted for awhile. James explained his connection to Liv while Fiona talked about the revelation that her kidnapping disclosed, that Nicky Turnbull was her biological father. Then they headed back to the shaded country pathway that would lead them to Rua.

Once on the road again they walked in silence on three individual journeys. Each had been given the same advice before they left, 'when you have lost the path and someone comes along to show you the way, you will know you have arrived'. They found lodging in an albergue for the night. Instead of sleeping they sat up talking.

Liv and Fiona shared their good fortune to have been adopted by loving parents and had relatively happy childhoods. James was silent on the subject choosing to divert the conversation to talk a bit about Laura and the slow progress they were making in their new roles.

Over the last weeks Liv and James had talked about their shared biological father, helping each other to deal will the knowledge that they were conceived in acts of violence, not love. Liv disclosed few details about her mother and James did not want to be overly inquisitive. Liv asked Fiona if she planned to meet her birth mother.

"I don't know. I never wanted to. Now I'm not sure."

James had to admit he was happy that he did. "Would you rather cling to an unattainable fantasy of your mother or take a risk to meet the one who really exists?"

Liv agreed. "I wish I could have met mine, even though she did some things I may not be comfortable with." She looked at James. "Not only is she dead, she was murdered in Oxford a few years ago."

James was listening closely as he suspected that he may have met Liv's birth mother, and later investigated her murder.

Fiona broke his reverie. "I believe I know the identity of my mother. There have been clues. I wanted to ignore them."

"Clues?" James was surprised to find he missed piecing clues together.

"Yes, a shared blood type for one thing. And I got this very odd letter." Fiona had carried it with her, not wanting to let go of the message. She took it out of her pocket and showed it to James. "Maybe you have seen this handwriting before?"

James studied the letter and focused on one of the few lines that wasn't just rubbish, 'your mother is innocent'. "I have seen this handwriting before, resting at the top of a pile of paper in the bin by someone's desk. It's not her writing though." James saw that Fiona knew whose desk he meant and wondered why he was studying the contents of the Chief Super's bin. "Peterson was droning on about something during a meeting and I needed a nearby diversion-"

"Enough said." Fiona laughed. Even though she had never met him, she had heard about Peterson from a colleague at the Met. "I saw it on a note stuck to the table in her kitchen when I was helping clear away after a little party she gave for her son Chris, when he became a police officer."

As they sat and considered their individual journeys they all came to the same conclusion. Their boats had reached the shore. They each looked from one to the other as they realized it was a unanimous decision.

Fiona broke the silence. "We turn back tomorrow." James and Liv both nodded and looked solemn.

Then Liv laughed. "Next year we can meet up again to climb Mt. Everest and turn around when we reach Camp 4, only 850 metres from the summit."

James smiled. "One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things." The three of them put their hands together.

* * *

><p>Laura had the framed photographs of Jack, Caroline, and Brian in one hand intending to put them back on the piano and went to sit on the sofa next to Robbie. She put her free hand on his chest. "Sorry Robbie. I was being childish."<p>

He gave her the fond look that was reserved only for her. "It was my fault for wanting to protect you from something you didn't need protecting from." He took her hand and squeezed it into his chest, then stood up and led her out into the front hall and pointed at the undecorated wall opposite the front door. "I have a plan." Then he escorted her into the home office.

Laura set up an office in the house so she could do some of her work at home. Now that Robbie was retired, she hoped they could spend more time together.

Robbie took the pictures of Jack, Caroline, and Brian from Laura and placed them on her desk. There really was only room for the three of them on the already crowded work space.

"Okay?"

"Yes, they will remind me not to work too hard." She smiled. "Now about this plan of yours…"

"Don't worry, it involves technology but I didn't attempt it alone." He saw her skeptical look. "Have some faith."

Two days later Laura stood staring at the previously undecorated wall opposite the front door. "What is that?"

"It's a digital thingy. Gurdip helped me." Robbie touched his hand to a framed screen and Jack's face appeared. Then he continued scrolling and the faces of Brian, Caroline, Brad, Carole, Lyn, Tim, Ken, and Val appeared in sequence. There followed various group family photos, then one of Robbie and Laura together.

"I love it. Thank-you." She reached her arms around his neck. He leaned down to kiss her.

After a moment, Robbie touched the screen again. "Here's one you haven't seen before." He presented a photo of Laura and James together, each almost smiling.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I have spent a total of only two hours in Spain, many years ago, just enough time for a group of students to get our passports stamped and take a very short walk. **


	14. Chapter 14

Jean looked at her diary again, not that she needed a reminder. She knew what was on her schedule.

**10 AM _Mckendrick_**

Jean rose from her chair as her assistant ushered in her guest and then closed the door.

"Hello Mrs. Innocent." The woman approached the desk and held out her hand.

"Please, have a seat, and call me Jean."

As she sat looking at her from the other side of her desk, Jean realized this was all wrong. She got up and came around to the front of her desk and gestured toward a small table. Jean poured coffee for the two of them and they sat more casually.

"Thank-you for seeing me." The woman held tightly to her handbag.

"It's my pleasure. What can I do for you Mrs. McKendrick."

"Please, call me Flora. I need your help." She stared into her coffee then looked up. "I don't like to ask. You have done so much for us already."

Jean took a sip from her mug. "Something's bothering you. I'll do what I can to help."

"My husband doesn't know I'm here."

Jean gave Flora her most sincere look. "Husbands don't need to know everything. We'll keep this just between us."

Flora nodded. "First I should say, I know who you are, although I can tell that you have figured that out."

"Yes."

"I should thank-you for giving Fiona life, giving her to us, and for twice saving her life."

"Twice?"

"Yes, donating blood after her accident, and then coming to her rescue when she was kidnapped."

"Sorry?"

Flora released her grip on the handbag and waved one hand in the air. "I know what you did. I followed you after you interviewed us. I'm not usually very brave but Fiona was in danger. I was prepared to help but you appeared to have everything under control." She paused to recall the scene. "I would have been more of a hindrance than a help."

It was not often that Jean Innocent was taken by surprise. She tried to maintain her composure. "Mrs. Mckendrick, Flora, if you need to report what you saw, I can give you the contact details for Detective Inspector Anderson. He is in charge of the investigation and has not been able to locate any witnesses."

"I see no need to report anything. Fiona is safe and that's all that matters." She finally picked up her coffee to take a drink.

Jean straightened up in her chair. "So what do you need my help with now?"

Flora swallowed. "Someone has been harassing Fiona." She saw Jean's eyebrows go up. "Well maybe that's not the right word. It all started with a letter. Fiona was upset by it but of course as is her way did not say anything. After she left on her trip there were some odd phone calls, a strange man asking for Fiona, wanting to discuss the letter he sent her."

"Did you feel threatened by him or more to the point, did he threaten Fiona?"

"Well…" She hesitated.

"Because if threats were made it's a matter for the police. Is that what this is?"

Flora made a decision. "Yes, I felt threatened. It's a matter for the police. I'm sure if I remember correctly threats were made."

"Do you have anything that can help identify this man?"

"Yes." She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her handbag and handed it to Jean. "I photocopied the letter while Fiona was sleeping."

Jean quickly read the letter with the familiar handwriting. "Don't worry, Flora, I'll take care of this." Jean used a tone of voice that instilled fear into her junior officers. "I would much prefer it if you do not follow me this time." Then she softened her voice. "You don't need that unpleasantness."

"Yes, of course. I knew you could help...Jean. Thank-you." She hesitated a second then reached into her handbag again. "I have some pictures of Fiona when she was a girl. I wonder if you wouldn't mind looking at them. I do like to show off my daughter."

"That would be lovely Flora, thank-you."

Jean took her time looking at the pictures of the young Fiona, inwardly sighing over the sights of the girl on her first day of school, winning awards, on holiday, and even riding a pony. She smiled and neatened them up in a stack and handed them back. Then her face took on a serious expression. "There is something I must warn you about. Diane Turnbull is planning to write a book about Nicky and wants to speak to the press, specifically about the child he fathered."

Flora's lips tightened. "I see."

"So far, we've been able to prevent it with her in custody. I'm not sure how long we can keep her quiet. I will try to give you as much warning as possible before it's made public."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Jean turned and looked over her shoulder before she entered the pub. Once inside, as her eyes got accustomed to the semi darkness, in contrast to the bright sunlight outside, she spied her target and approached him. Jean nudged his drinking companion in the ribs and commanded. "Excuse me, I need to borrow your seat for a few minutes." The slightly inebriated man gave her an examining look and decided to visit the gents rather than protest.<p>

She addressed her soon to be former husband. "I see the company you keep hasn't improved any."

"You should talk, what with your past and all."

"That's why I am here. You have stepped over the line."

"What's that?"

"You know what I mean, threatening phone calls, and an anonymous letter."

He smiled. "I'm just sharing information."

"Let me share something with you. A restraining order has been issued. Any further contact with Fiona or her parents will get you at least one night in the cells."

He shrugged.

"I can assure you that just one hour in prison for the husband of the Chief Superintendent will not be pleasant. They are not to know how much I loathe you."

That got his attention.

"Do we have an understanding?"

He nodded.

Jean got up to leave as Alec Pickman was returning to his seat.

Ellen Jacoby was entering the pub and before she knew what was happening Jean took a firm hold of her elbow and steered her back out into the street.

* * *

><p>James, Liv, and Fiona spent some time helping to fix up an orphanage in Pravia, Spain and were now on their way back to Oxford. Liv had a favor to ask of her brother.<p>

"James, you said that Laura, Dr. Hobson, lives with Inspector Lewis."

"That's right. By now, they should be all moved into the house they bought together."

"Would you see if you can get me invited over to their place…when I'm ready?"

"Yeah, sure, ready for what?"

"To talk to the last person who saw my mother alive." James and Fiona exchanged a look that could only be understood by a police officer.

* * *

><p>"Rimini? Are you sure, Laura? Don't you want someplace a little quieter?"<p>

Laura and Robbie were using her laptop to research places in Italy for a holiday when Laura could get some time off work. They had already finished Chapter One of their Italian lessons.

"We want to go somewhere lively Robbie, not a seaside resort full of pensioners."

"Do I need to remind you that I am a pensioner?"

"Do I need to remind you to stop acting like an old man?"

Later, upstairs in the one place where they had no trouble communicating and Laura allowed Robbie to put her first, Robbie gently rubbed circles into Laura's back while her head rose and fell gently on his chest, listening to the calming rhythm of his heart.

"Did that remind you of an old man?"

"Mmmm no, much better."

"Ti amo, Laura."

"Ti amo, Roberto."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: WhyAye, author of the wonderful story _Fortnight in Rimini_, told me that Rimini is a beach/party town, and not a likely destination for Robbie and Laura's Italian holiday. **


	15. Chapter 15

Ellen Jacoby woke up on an unfamiliar sofa. Her head hurt from too much wine the night before. She sat up and tried to focus on her surroundings.

"Here, drink this." Someone handed her a glass of water.

"Thanks." She sat up and took a sip.

"Sorry for press ganging you away from the pub, only to get you drunk."

"You weren't to know that I was going in to tell Alec that I wanted nothing more to do with him."

"Perhaps it's for the best. He'll figure it out eventually when you stop chasing after him."

"Yes, and you were right, seeing him would have weakened my resolve." She sighed. "I think part of me will always be in love with him. It's not easy to move on."

Jean recalled her college reading. 'Do not grieve so much for a man lost that it wastes away your life.'

"What is that, Shakespeare?"

"No, Greek Mythology." Jean sat down next to Ellen. "The absence of Alec Pickman from your life will allow you to find your way to real happiness."

"I had this silly idea that I might meet someone new at the pub after cutting ties with Alec."

"The company he was keeping wasn't the best. That was not the time and place to meet someone new."

"Well, thanks for looking out for me." She looked at Jean. "I don't know why though, after what I told you I did to Laura."

"I made a mistake once, caused by poor judgment. I don't want anyone else to do the same."

Ellen finished the water. "Is that why you became a police officer?"

"It had a bearing on my decision, yes." Jean gave Ellen her most authoritative look. "Of course I do still expect you to tell Laura the truth. Only not now, so soon after her latest trauma."

Ellen tried to show more courage than she felt. "Yes…yes, I will, when the time is right."

* * *

><p>Laura came downstairs carrying her ipad and the book, <em>Italian Lessons for Lovers<em>, a course for couples wanting to learn Italian together, and left them on the table by the sofa. She went into the kitchen where Robbie was having a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

Robbie was expecting her to pick up her keys and head to work. Instead she starting taking out the ingredients for a casserole. He got up to investigate and went up behind her to put his hands around her waist.

"Careful, I have a knife in my hands."

"Oh, I'll be careful. Need some help?"

'Help' from Robbie meant the task would take longer than if she worked alone. Although more fun, she gave him something else to do. "Robbie, would you mind bringing up a couple bottles of wine?"

He grabbed a slice of cheese and put it in his mouth. "Two enough?"

"Make it three, thanks."

Laura started furiously chopping cucumbers as she heard Robbie open the door to the cellar, then his footsteps going down. When she heard him coming back up, she eased off.

Robbie entered the kitchen with the wine. Laura put down the knife. "There, all you have to do with this later is put it in the oven for an hour and dinner will be ready." She took the bottles from Robbie's hands and set them on the table and put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Thanks for getting the wine." She released him and pointed to a chair. "Sit down; I'm going to do a fry up for you before I go."

"It's not Saturday is it? Sometimes we pensioners do forget what day it is. Mind you, I wouldn't complain about a fry up any day."

"No it's not Saturday. I don't have to be in until 10 and I want to show you how much I appreciate everything you do for me."

"Well, so far all I've done today is fetch some wine. That's a small price to pay for you putting up with an old grouch."

Laura turned to the stove. "We don't need to keep score Robbie."

* * *

><p>Jean was on her way to a meeting with the editor of The Oxford Times, hoping to persuade him that publishing Diane Turnbull's story would be a violation of the privacy acts. She had just pushed the button for the 5th floor when someone else joined her in the lift. As the doors closed she backed away so the other rider could select a floor.<p>

Their eyes met.

Jean stared at Fiona McKendrick. "Sorry."

"For what?" Fiona pushed number 4 and they began their ascent.

Jean looked around assuring herself that there was no one else with them. "For…being in your way."

"You're not-"

The lift gave one last thrust upwards and then ground to a stop. Alarms sounded. The sudden movement caused both women to smash into the wall together.

Jean gently took hold of Fiona's arms, not sure whether she was completely recovered from her previous injuries. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, no stitches to pop open anymore. You?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She pushed the alarm button and added to the already raucous din in the building.

Fiona picked up the emergency phone and got no signal on that or her mobile. "Dead."

Jean found no signal on her mobile either.

They stared at each other, both thinking the same thing. _She knows._

Finally the alarms ceased and Fiona broke the awkward silence between them. "It's a good thing this did not happen to James and Dr. Hobson."

"Yes, they haven't recovered from being trapped in that bunker."

"Jean, maybe this is fate, like one of those Greek tragedies, us being stuck here together."

"Perhaps. The Greeks would say this is a misplaced accident."

Fiona stared at a wall. "I always said I didn't want to know anything about my birth mother. I move on from people before the feelings get too complicated."

"We could keep it simple."

She turned to face Jean. "Now that I know about you and Nicky Turnbull, the investigator in me wants to know the rest, I suppose. James said that I want to hang on to an unrealistic provenance. Learning the truth means I have to deal with it."

"It might be easier to deal with the one truth rather than all the possibilities, although I warn you the real story is not something I'm proud of."

"James and Liv both have shared origins in violence. While it might have been better left unknown, they don't feel that way. They both wanted answers."

"Do you…want answers?" Jean did not know about Liv and her connection to James. She would wait to be told about her and wanted to concentrate only on Fiona.

Fiona shifted from one foot to the other. "I seem to have some free time on my hands right now."

"I have to warn you, I wasn't innocent like Dr. Hobson."

"Tell me. Please, we shouldn't mess with fate."

Jean's voice grew quiet. "I was fourteen and went to visit my sister at college. We could pass for twins as I looked much older. We had fun fooling people, even trading places at times." She paused to take a deep breath. "There was a party and I borrowed some of my sister's clothes and presented myself as a 21 year old student."

"Let me guess. Nicky Turnbull came to the party looking for a good time."

"Yes. I was pleased with myself for tricking him into thinking I was an adult."

"Okay, I can put the rest together."

"Yes, of course, sorry."

"Jean, you don't need to keep apologizing. I did some things when I was a teenager that could have led to serious consequences and would have shocked my mother."

Jean smiled. "She's a lovely woman, your mother."

"She hovers a bit too much but yes, I was very lucky to have been given such wonderful parents." Fiona leaned against a wall. "I didn't make it easy for them, especially my mother."

"Sometimes just being a woman isn't easy. Not that I'm using that as an excuse for my actions."

"I'm not blaming you completely, Jean. You were a teenager. Even though he wasn't to know your true age, Nicky Turnbull is at fault for taking advantage of young women."

"I didn't learn from my mistake. I got involved with another unsuitable man and married him."

"Mr. Innocent? I always thought he was tosser."

"You have something in common with Chris."

"He's not turned out like his father, has he?"

Jean sighed. "Thankfully no."

"Good."

"I do know that you and James have a history. That shows you are a good picker of men."

"Yes, but I let the good ones go more easily than the bad ones." 'Of all creatures that can feel and think, we women are the worst treated things alive.' Fiona knew the real story of Medea.

The lift started to descend and soon they were back on the first floor. The doors opened and a member of building security ushered them out.

Jean and Fiona parted ways without speaking further.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later, Robbie and Laura returned home from a night at the pub.<p>

Robbie unlocked the door and held it open for Laura. "I'm sorry James didn't make it tonight. I was looking forward to a catch up."

"Me too."

"Well, at least he called to let you know he was home."

"Yes." Laura went and sat on the sofa.

"And that he was promoted to Inspector." Robbie sat down next to her.

"Yes." She took her hand and absentmindedly rubbed his leg.

"You'll probably see him at a crime scene sooner or later."

"Yes."

Robbie took her hand from his leg, stood and pulled her up. Then he grabbed the Italian book and led her towards the stairs. "Want to start a new chapter or just practice the previous one?"


	16. Chapter 16

Several weeks later, Robbie and James sat in the pub after the conclusion of the Graham Lawrie case. Neither of them wanted to talk about work.

Robbie still hadn't heard the details of his long walk in Spain. "So, are you ready to tell me about your time away travelling?"

James hadn't touched his drink yet. "Whatever direction I walked pointed me back here, to Oxford."

Robbie decided not to press for more details. "I'm glad you are back. So is Laura."

James did not expect Robbie to give up so easily. "It's a bit strange. Since I've been back she's starting to act like my mother, or maybe it's just the first I've noticed."

Robbie had noticed but wasn't sure James or Laura had. "Good strange?"

"Yeah, good strange, and weird at the same time." He picked up his glass. "Of course she was acting like my mother that day in the bunker."

"You were out for most of it."

"Well I am noticing it now."

"What was your first clue?"

James looked into his glass. "At the crime scene of my first murder investigation she asked to see my Inspector's badge and congratulated me. Dr. Hobson wouldn't have done that with anyone else."

"You are right about that." Robbie recalled the pride in her voice when she told him about it.

"She wanted to know why I hadn't shown up that first night we had planned to catch up. I felt like a teenager who missed his curfew."

"Laura was disappointed you didn't come." He looked at James. "It wouldn't surprise me if she said that I was the one who was disappointed. She doesn't like to push things with you."

James fought back emotion. "When I saw her at the crime scene after the murder of PC Mark Travis, I could tell that she was having a hard time not imaging that it was me she was called to examine."

"Yeah, I'm sure it crossed her mind. She's been unusually worried about my safety since I went back to work. Laura is projecting her fears for you onto me."

He eyed Robbie suspiciously. "Since when did you become Sigmund Freud?" James finally took a drink.

Robbie laughed. "I don't know the bloke. What I do know is Laura is still a bit unsure about showing you her feelings. It's clear to me though."

"Oh, you have actual evidence?"

"During this last case, I was worried about her safety and told her that you were dragging your feet with Graham Lawrie." James nodded; he knew Robbie did not always agree with how he handled the investigation. "Laura jumped all over me, first for trying to protect her, but most of all when I dared to criticize you, just like a mother bear defending her cub."

James ducked his head and tried to hide his smile. "And you lived to talk about it?"

"Just barely escaped with all my bits intact. I knew the way she wagged her finger at me and shouted 'That's not fair', I had gone too far."

This time James couldn't hide his smirk. "Was it cold sleeping outside in the shed?"

"Ha Ha. As a matter of fact, Laura has a rule; we leave any disagreements aside at the end of the day."

"Really?"

"Yes, she says it's not conducive to sleep or, well, the other."

"I think this is more than I want to know."

Robbie shook his head.

"The first couple of times I thought she had just moved on from whatever was bothering her. Not to worry though, she would pick up where we left off in the morning."

"Like the time you went back to work without telling her?"

"Yeah, that's why we went out for breakfast the next morning. She most certainly did not forget that overnight."

"She must have felt like strangling you. I mean, who does that?"

"I do apparently. She said I was behaving like a single bloke and was put out because I didn't ask her opinion." Robbie looked contrite. "She was right. Innocent mentioned a murder case and I forgot about everything else. I offered to back out if she wasn't happy about it. Laura said no, she wanted me to be happy."

"What about her happiness?"

"Actually I thought I was doing it for her."

"What?"

"After I retired, I would see her off to work in the morning and call outs at night and I was left sitting home alone, feeling old, too old for her. Laura was full of life while I was getting bad tempered and sedentary. When Jean Innocent offered me a part in a murder investigation, I got a burst of adrenaline and the years slipped away." Robbie blinked as he recalled that day. "It would be different if I was too old to go back, and by then she'll be that much closer to early retirement herself."

"Has she complained about you being too old?"

"No, she makes jokes about it sometimes."

"Have the pair of you ever considered having an actual conversation, from start to finish?"

"Yeah we should try that someday. She did admit that after I went back to work I looked and acted younger." Robbie decided to share something with James. "I suspect she prefers me at home because she doesn't like to be on her own after dark."

"She was on her own for a long time."

"Things are different now, she's different now."

"Walls are coming down."

"Yeah."

"The Dr. Hobson side of her understands your need to work and not just keep house."

"I get home in time most nights to make dinner." _And rub her back. _"We're still planning our Italian trip."

"More importantly, are you still behaving like a single bloke?"

"No worries there." He looked at his watch.

* * *

><p>Laura opened the door and stared down into the darkness. Ellen had called and asked if she could come over and talk to her that evening. Earlier, Robbie called to say he and James were going to the pub. He invited her to join them but she figured they needed to clear the air after the Graham Lawrie case. Since she was going to be on her own Laura told Ellen she was welcome to visit her at home.<p>

Laura had checked the kitchen and confirmed there were two bottles of wine. Then Ellen called back and said she was bringing someone with her. It was strange that she didn't ask if it was okay. Laura decided she needed another bottle or two from the cellar. Up to then, she had never gone down there on her own. The only time she had fetched any wine without Robbie, Lizzie Maddox was with her, the night she and James came over for pizza.

She tried to shake off her doubts. Surely Dr. Laura Hobson was capable of going down the stairs into the cellar for a bottle of wine. Robbie had made sure that there were bright lights that could be turned on from both the top and bottom of the stairs.

Ellen and Jean stood outside Laura and Robbie's house. Ellen's resolve to tell Laura that she knew what Ligeia had done all those years ago had weakened so she asked Jean to accompany her. They had rung the bell. After a few more rings Jean knocked loudly on the door and was beginning to worry but didn't let on.

Ellen looked puzzled. "That's odd. Laura knew we were coming and there are lights on in the house."

Jean pulled out her phone.

* * *

><p>"Robbie, that's the second time you have checked your watch. "You're not keeping another woman somewhere, are you?"<p>

"Of course not."

"I have a favor to ask."

"Shoot."

"Can I bring Liv over to your house one night? She wants to talk to you about her birth mother." Robbie's eyebrows went up. "Well, if it's who I think it is, it will have to be handled with kindness, and you are good at that." James explained.

"Poor lass. Yeah, I'll talk to Laura first. I'm sure we can do that."

James was happy that Robbie was not acting like a single bloke. "Thanks Robbie."

Robbie's phone rang as James made eye contact with a woman entering the pub.


	17. Chapter 17

Laura turned on the cellar lights. Peering down into the brightly lit space did not convince her that it was not dark below the stairs. She patted the back pocket of her jeans, reassuring herself that her phone was there. It was too quiet so she spoke just to hear the sound of her own voice. "This is silly. I wasn't afraid of Graham Lawrie, I should be able to…" she gasped as something brushed against her leg. Then she heard purring. "Monty, you shouldn't sneak up on people, although I am very happy to see you." Laura picked up the cat. There was strength in numbers. Slowly she started down the stairs.

After each step Laura stopped and took a deep breath and coughed. When she got to the bottom her feet were frozen on the small mat. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine an endless blue sky, blazing sunlight and a warm breeze. No luck. All she could see in her mind was a black hole in the ground. Laura shook her head to try and prevent any bad memories from surfacing and opened her eyes, scanning the room to make sure every bulb was burning bright.

She looked over at the wine rack. In front of it was a bigger mat, what Morse would call a large carpet. Holding Monty tighter she took three big steps then leapt to the safety of the big mat. Deciding one bottle of wine was all she could manage without putting the cat down, she randomly made a selection and turned back towards the stairs.

"There, the hard part is done. All I need to do is…" From somewhere in the cellar Laura heard a strange moaning sound. Monty squirmed in her arms; he heard it too. She stiffened, her feet mired to the carpet, clutching the cat. The voice of a thirteen year old girl echoed in her head, "Run, Laura, run!"

Desperate and unable to take even one step, Laura decided she would call for help. She would have to put either Monty or the wine down to get her phone. Not willing to release the cat, Laura let the bottle fall to the floor. The carpet prevented it from breaking.

Now with her phone in hand, she faced a dilemma. Who should she call? Robbie was the obvious choice of course. No, she couldn't call him. She was already tired of the number of times she asked him if he was going to be home at night. This wasn't going to be a relationship based on dependency. Brad? No, she didn't want to worry him and much as he would try, he would not understand. Franco? Franco! Where did that come from? Next she would be considering Peterson for goodness sake.

Even though the lights in the cellar shone as strongly as ever, Laura's view was dim. A voice sounded in her head, "You're fine! You're fine!" She exhaled. _James_. She would call James. Miraculously she was able to scroll to his number and push the button. Her call went straight to his voice mail. She opened her mouth to say something and couldn't speak. Then she heard the doorbell. Laura willed whoever it was to just come in and find her. After a few agonizing moments she heard knocking. "Please come in" she wanted to yell. Ice water flowed through her veins. She hadn't felt this cold since...no, she refused to go back there.

She put the phone back in her pocket and hugged Monty with both arms. He tensed every muscle in his body as he heard the sound a millisecond before she did, the same moaning as before, only louder. The cat screeched and Laura was propelled into action. She made the stairs in two giant leaps and clattered noisily up out of the darkness, slamming the door behind her at the top, not bothering to turn the lights off.

* * *

><p>Jean had just heard Robbie answer her call and say "hello", when the door opened and Laura stood before them, holding the cat, looking as if she had seen a ghost.<p>

As Ellen walked in and asked Laura if everything was all right and why it took so long to answer the door, Jean turned away and hastily spoke softly but distinctly into her phone. "Come home now Robbie. Laura needs you." Jean took a few rapid steps to catch up with Ellen.

"I'm fine Ellen. I was…down in the cellar looking for Monty. Sorry if I kept you waiting."

Ellen accepted her explanation but Jean was not fooled.

Jean took the cat from Laura. "What a naughty kitty, hiding in the cellar." Monty looked confused.

Laura suddenly remembered her manners. "Please, come in, sit down."

As Jean settled into a chair and set the cat down, Ellen sat on the sofa while Laura remained standing wringing her hands. "I have some wine in the kitchen."

"Laura, please sit down." Although Jean said it nicely, it sounded like an order. "Ellen, perhaps you can go into the kitchen and find things to make us some tea. I don't think we need wine right now."

Ellen finally caught on that something was wrong with Laura. "Oh, okay."

* * *

><p>Fiona Mckendrick took the seat that Robbie had vacated to rush home after receiving a phone call.<p>

James suspected something was wrong with Laura and would have followed him out if Fiona had not entered the pub.

"Hello James."

James and Fiona had not seen each other since returning from Spain.

"Sorry Fiona, I'm can't stay."

"That's okay, I'm meeting someone."

James stood up. "When do you go back to London?"

"Two more days. Want to come over tomorrow night to say goodbye properly?"

"You mean like last time, and then I don't hear anything from you for a few years?"

Before Fiona could answer a young man with dark hair came up and joined them. Fiona started to make introductions.

"James, this is-"

"I know who he is, I've got to go."

When James got outside he turned his phone back on. He had turned it off on the way to the pub with Robbie. It was the first time since he made Inspector that he disconnected from the job. He saw the missed call from Laura. There was an empty message.

* * *

><p>While Ellen was making tea, Jean spoke quietly to Laura encouraging her to talk when she was ready.<p>

After a few sips of tea Laura was able to tell Jean and Ellen what had upset her.

"There was a strange noise in the cellar. It was too dark to see what it was." She described what she and Monty heard and did after reaching the wine rack.

Jean had much experience interviewing witnesses, victims, and suspects and could sort out the credible from the doolally. She was convinced by Laura's description and Monty's behaviour that there was something odd in the cellar.

Ellen was also a believer and her eyes grew big. "Maybe we should call the police."

Jean stood up. "I am the police."

* * *

><p><strong>AN; I want to thank everyone for reading this story. When I began writing one year ago, it was to get outside of my comfort zone and try something new. I never expected anyone to actually read my stories, much less comment on them. I've enjoyed hearing from and 'meeting' you. Recently I told a good friend about my new hobby and she said "YOU do that!" Yup, much to my surprise (and hers) I do. :-)**


	18. Chapter 18

James was so nervous driving to Laura and Robbie's house he turned off the main road too early and got himself lost for several minutes before finding his way back in the right direction. He arrived at the Hobson/Lewis home to find the lights on. James rang the bell, then 10 seconds later he knocked. Not waiting long for an answer, he tried the door. It was unlocked and he opened it and went inside and shouted, "Laura, it's James!"

He was greeted with silence. James ran through the downstairs rooms, not finding anyone. He went up the stairs two at a time. Having never seen the upper floor rooms before, he took extra time making sure he looked everywhere. As he dashed back downstairs James came face to face with the open door to the cellar. He was in such a state, he had forgotten about the cellar.

The lights were still on as James made his way down the stairs holding the railing. When his hand felt something wet he pulled it away and was horrified to see blood on his fingers. There were several bloody handprints on the railing and drops of blood trailing in the direction of the wine rack. He yelled out Laura's name again and only heard the echo of his own voice. He pulled out his phone and called for back-up and a crime scene team.

As he waited to hear the sirens of reinforcements James imagined Laura coming down these stairs. Did Robbie or Brad know how scared she would be in the cellar? He doubted it. If you have never been trapped in a dark hole…no couldn't think about that. He put his mind to the current problem. What had happened here? James tried calling Robbie and Laura's phones. Neither one answered. He could hear one of the phones ringing in the cellar and he went in search of it.

* * *

><p>Laura had said the cellar was dark but when Jean opened the door she could see it was brightly lit. Laura came up behind her with a torchlight and handed it to her. "I'm going with you."<p>

Jean wasn't sure that was a good idea. "Laura, please stay with Ellen. We don't need her getting hysterical."

"I'm not staying alone in the other room." Ellen joined them and the three of them stood together at the top of the stairs.

As much as Jean wanted to go down into the cellar and investigate, in light of what happened to Sergeant Maddox recently, she would follow procedure and wait for backup.

"All right, you two can stay here in the hall but only if you follow orders." They both nodded. "Let's all be quiet and see if we hear anything." All three strained their ears and shook their heads.

The front door opened and Robbie entered to find the three women standing by the open door to the cellar. "Laura, are you okay?"

"Yes…Jean was just going to check on something in the cellar."

Jean took command. "Robbie, you and I will go down and see if we can find the source of a noise Laura heard. Laura and Ellen will wait here."

Robbie insisted on going first down the stairs. Jean agreed only because it was his house and he was more familiar with it. Laura and Ellen remained put, as ordered. Laura had her phone at the ready if they needed reinforcements. When Robbie and Jean got to the bottom of the stairs, Jean quickly explained what Laura told her about her trip to the cellar to get wine. She had almost finished when they both heard something. They followed the noise to the far wall behind the wine rack.

Laura and Ellen could hear Robbie and Jean's footsteps, then their faint voices, followed by silence, then some sounds they couldn't quite make out. Finally after an agonizing few minutes they heard Robbie's voice. Laura peered through the opening and craned her neck trying to hear better.

"Laura, can you come down here? We need your help."

"No!" Jean wondered how Robbie could be so clueless and not know that Laura was afraid to go into the cellar."

"Ma'am? We need medical assistance. Laura would want to help."

Laura heard enough to know she was needed. She had years of experience putting duty before her fears. "Coming!" She told Ellen where to find the first aid kit and asked her to be ready to bring it down the stairs if necessary.

Ellen wasn't feeling particularly brave but agreed to go as she couldn't stand the suspense of waiting any longer.

Just as Laura was about to take the first step down, her 13-year-old self issued a warning in her head, 'Don't go, it's a trap!' Laura faltered for a second then steeled her resolve and continued down the stairs. She was sure that under no circumstances would Robbie ever lead her into a trap.

"Robbie! Where are you?"

"Over here at the far end, by the outside door."

Jean still wasn't convinced it was a good idea for Laura to join them. "We can handle it Laura, there's no need-"

"I'm here now and...oh my God!"

Laura bent down to see a half starved dog with a huge gash in his leg. Robbie had taken off his jacket and used the sleeve to bind up the dog's leg. She didn't take time to ask questions and immediately got to work. "Robbie, find the nearest Veterinary Hospital."

"I'll do that." Jean got out her phone. "Robbie, help Laura with the dog. Sometimes they can be vicious when wounded."

Jean needn't have worried. The dog licked Robbie's hand and didn't protest anything that Laura did to examine him.

"It's appears that in addition to the gash in his leg, he may have broken his tibia. How did he even get in here?"

Robbie pointed at the makeshift door. "There are some broken hinges on that. Poor thing must have been trying to get out of the rain and pushed his way in."

"He must have been looking for food too. He's half starved. We can't give him anything yet until he sees a Vet. He may need surgery." She stroked the dog's head and he licked her hand too. "Jean?"

"Found someone who is on call and can see him right away." She gave Robbie the address.

Laura finished stabilizing the dog's leg and picked him up refusing Robbie's offer to carry him up the stairs. Laura got to the top before realizing that once she laid eyes on the dog she had forgotten her fears about the cellar.

Ellen had been waiting anxiously at the top of the stairs. "That's the sorriest looking dog I've ever seen."

Laura hugged her bundle protectively. "He's injured Ellen. He can't be expected to look his best."

"I didn't mean it that way. He's sweet, like a wanderer in need of love and a good home."

Laura saw Robbie's expression. "We can't keep this dog Robbie."

"We can't keep this dog Laura?"

"Not if he belongs to someone else. We can see that he gets medical care and then help him to recuperate while we locate his owner."

Jean liked the idea of Robbie and Laura having a dog. "Why don't Ellen and I pop out and see where we can find dog food and supplies at this time of night." She held up her hand. "I know, he has to go see the vet first. You may not be keeping him but he will need something for the next day or so while you try and locate his owner or take him to a shelter."

Laura lovingly patted the dog's side. "He'll stay here, not at a shelter, until we find his owner. So your offer to do his shopping is much appreciated. C'mon Robbie let's go."

Minutes after they all left, James arrived at the house.

* * *

><p>Robbie was quiet while he drove to the animal hospital. The dog moaned several times as he was obviously in a lot of pain. Laura held him on her lap, keeping his leg stable and trying to reassure him that everything would be okay. Eventually the dog fell asleep. Laura had turned her phone off so as to not disturb the dog. Robbie's phone was in his discarded jacket in the cellar.<p>

Once the dog was taken off to see the vet Laura and Robbie had a chance to speak in the waiting room.

"Sorry Laura."

"For what?"

"For not making sure the cellar door was secure."

"Don't be sorry about that. If it was secure he wouldn't have been able to get in." Laura looked at the double doors behind which the dog went off to be x-rayed.

"Who?"

"The dog, Robbie, keep up!"

Oh, yeah the dog. He knew she was avoiding talking about the cellar. "Well, we have a home. He went to a lot of trouble to get in." He directed his pleading, raised-eyebrow look at her.

Her razor sharp eyes met his. "We might have been able to manage a dog if you hadn't gone back to work." She tried to keep her voice matter of fact. "They are not independent like cats. And speaking of cats, there is Monty to consider."

Robbie did not want to undo all the progress they made since he went back to work. "I could put one of those pet openings on the kitchen door so he could go in and out of the garden on his own." He saw Laura's skeptical look. "Or I could pay someone to do it. And Monty might like having a companion in the house."

"Well, we're getting ahead of ourselves. He might just be terribly lost. If so, we must return him to his rightful owner."

"We can agree to looking after him until then?"

"Yes, I can agree to that."

That settled, Robbie had to return to the subject of the cellar. "Laura, I'm sorry I didn't realize how you felt about going into the cellar. You left enough clues, I should have guessed." He put his arm around her. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Laura leaned into him. "Telling you makes it real. I'd rather try and ignore it."

"I'm no expert but I don't think it will get better that way."

"You're right, you are no expert." She looked up at him. "Sorry Robbie. I know you meant well."

Robbie started to lean down to kiss her.

"Dr. Hobson?" Dr. Leal would like to talk to you.

* * *

><p>On the way home, the dog having been x-rayed, fed, and given some pain medicine, slept peacefully on Laura's lap. His leg was temporarily stabilized much in the same way Laura had done earlier.<p>

"So we've agreed to keep him until his surgery the day after tomorrow and for a few days after to recover."

Laura sighed. "Robbie...he might not recover. He is very weak, has lost a lot of blood, and there is a clean break of the bone."

"What's the prognosis?"

"50-50 chance."

"But he likes us, won't that help?"

"Yes, that should help. So should seeing his owner."

"He won't be seeing his owner."

"Why not? Dr. Leal said her assistant gave you the details. It was all on the microchip identification."

"It is but there's a problem. His owner is dead."

"Dead?"

"Yeah, for more than 4 years."

Laura let the news sink in. "I see. Where has he been all this time?"

"I don't know. It's a mystery."

"I hate to think of him on his own." She softly patted his head and ran her fingers lightly down his back.

Robbie may not have known how she felt about the cellar but he was fairly certain he knew how she felt about the dog. "Oh and I learned something else. He has a name."

"What is it?"

"Osborn."

"Osborn! What kind of name is that for a dog?"

Upon hearing his name, the dog stirred and made a contented sound.

"Well, it must mean something Laura."

"Of course it means something Robbie. This is Oxford. Everything means something."


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry for the delay of this chapter. My granddaughter 'fixed' my laptop while I thought she was taking a nap. Unfortunately she hasn't been much help in unfixing it. **

* * *

><p>Liv Nash sat in The Oarsmen pub with her brother and his friend Jonny Reeve. Jonny was happy to find out that James Hathaway was her biological brother and no longer a potential romantic rival. Oliver, the brother she grew up with, wasn't so sure about Liv's newly found sibling and his sister's quest to find out more about her birth mother.<p>

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Yes, Ollie. I need to know." Liv put her hand on his arm. "And don't worry, James can never replace you."

"If you say so."

Jonny looked around the unfamiliar pub. Why did you want to come to this pub anyway instead of our local?"

"I just like the name."

"Jonny, she found out that her new, taller brother was a star rower at Cambridge, even had a nickname, Attaway Hathaway." He grinned at Liv. "It's all right. I can probably beat him at chess."

Liv smiled but didn't tell Ollie that she doubted it.

* * *

><p>James followed the sound of Robbie's ringing phone in the cellar and found his jacket. Examining it without touching, he could imagine Robbie's arm around a bleeding Laura. The blood must belong to her. What could have happened to her in the cellar? James stepped carefully back up to the door to admit the crime scene team.<p>

He brooded while his white suited colleagues got to work. One of the technicians came to him with some hopeful news.

"Sir, this may not be human blood."

James heard someone ordering his team to stand down and went to confront the offender. He came face to face with Jean Innocent.

"Explain to me what is going on here!" she commanded.

"That's what I want to know." James saw Dr. Ellen Jacoby carrying some large parcels into the house. He approached her and demanded. "What have you done with Laura?"

"What?"

"Inspector Hathaway, a word, now!" Jean pointed to the office.

James followed Jean into Laura's home workplace, looking over his shoulder at Ellen as she started unpacking her shopping.

After she closed the door Jean took James to task. "What is going on here?"

"I am investigating the disappearance of Laura Hobson. How could you dismiss the crime scene team?"

Jean looked up and wrinkled her brow. "Just checking. It is still me that is Chief Superintendent? LShe is not missing."

"She's not here, she's not answering her phone and there is blood in the cellar."

"Stop rambling and listen. An injured dog made its way into their cellar. Laura and Robbie have taken the dog to an animal hospital. Ellen and I have been out getting supplies at a pet shop."

James stared at her. "And no one thought to leave a note, or call me?" He paused and saw her expression. "Ma'am!"

"No one knew you were going to break into the house and start making assumptions."

"Break in?"

"Yes, who admitted you?"

"I found the door unlocked and admitted myself."

"Unauthorized entry and wasting police time. Laura and Robbie could have you charged with trespassing."

"This is my…mother's house!"

"All right James, calm down. Laura's fine. She's fine. Believe me."

* * *

><p>As Robbie drove down their road, a parade of police vehicles passed them heading the other way.<p>

"Well, we missed something going on in our neighborhood, didn't we?"

Laura wasn't interested in the local crime scene. "Robbie, until Osborn's recovered a bit, we're going to have to find someone to stay with him while we're at work."

"I'll be home tomorrow. My new job comes with flexible hours, remember?"

They arrived at their house to find Jean and Ellen anxiously waiting for news about the dog. While they got them up to date and let Osborn nap on one of his new beds James, who had been sulking at Laura's office desk, stormed in.

"Where's Laura?" Robbie pointed to where she was sitting in a chair with the dog at her feet.

"Laura, are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Even though he was staring at the dog, it took him a few seconds to acknowledge it. "What is that?"

"He's not a what, he's a who. His name is Osborn." Laura could see that James was upset. "Are you all right?"

"No, I'm not all right. I get an empty message from you after Robbie has rushed off to your rescue. I arrive to find blood in the cellar and you missing!"

"Sorry James. I called you because...well I'll explain later. The blood was from the dog. We took him to see a vet. He's broken his leg and will need surgery. He also has a nasty cut. And he's homeless."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"Of what?"

"Oh I don't know, blood in the cellar and an intruder?" James really looked at Osborn for the first time and saw a medium sized mostly black dog with splotches of white randomly dotting his face and torso. The three white unbandaged feet reminded James of mismatched socks. He suspected the fourth paw sported another random dose of white. Just as he was about to comment that this dog would never win any prizes for his appearance, James noticed how fond Laura appeared to be of him. Beginning to warm up to the dog, he bent down to pet him. Osborn threw up on his shoe.

* * *

><p>The next day at work Laura had finished a post mortem on a man who was strangled by his wife. She had her suspicious as to the motive but put them aside and just did her job. Relieved to be finished with that she went to her office to have a coffee and check for messages. As she was responding to some email questions from students her phone rang. Without even saying hello she heard Robbie's panicked voice.<p>

"Is is okay for a dog to eat carrots? I mean, they aren't going to hurt him are they?"

Laura smiled. Jean had selected a high quality dog food that had no meat by-products or corn meal. Osborn had likely gone hungry often and lived on a diet of discarded fish and chips.

"No, carrots won't hurt him. Actually they are a nutritious treat for a dog. Of course right now Robbie, he's supposed to stick to the diet the vet recommended until after his surgery. We don't want him to add stomach upset to the rest of his ailments. How did he come to eat carrots?"

"Well, I was going to surprise you with cooked carrots from our garden tonight for dinner. They finally looked ready to pull out. I put them in a basket by the door and when Osborn went out he found them. I'm afraid he ate them all."

"I'm sure he is used to scavenging for food and will never turn down an easy find. We're going to have to keep things out of his reach."

"Yeah, I've been emptying things from the lower shelves. I caught him as he put his nose in a box of chocolate biscuits. It's amazing how well he gets around on three legs."

"Chocolate can be lethal for dogs so we'll have to do a complete check of everything within his reach."

"Other than that, we are getting along fine."

"Monty too?"

"Yes, once Monty explained the house rules."

"Let me guess, Monty can have anything that belongs to the dog, while anything that belongs to Monty is not to be shared."

"Ha ha, you got it right."

"Robbie, I've got to go. I shouldn't be home late. Thanks for looking after Osborn."

"See you later then. Dinner will be on the table, minus the carrots."

Robbie heard the doorbell and went to find a neighbor from down the road and his dog Donald* stopping by to ask if everything was all right. They had seen the police cars parked outside last night. Robbie briefly explained about Osborn and then the mix-up not mentioning James specifically. As Robbie invited them in he thought Donald was also an unusual name for a dog, although not so much as Osborn.

Donald was a fluffy, darkish dog, much more distinguished looking than Osborn. As he passed the mirror in the hall Robbie couldn't help but notice that Donald's few grey tufts around the ears were similar to his own.

* * *

><p>Later, over dinner that did not include carrots, Robbie told Laura how well Osborn got on with Donald from down the road. "Even though Osborn is well...you know."<p>

"No, I'm sure I don't. What do you mean?"

"His sketchy CV and lack of pedigree." Robbie reached for another piece of garlic bread.

"Robbie Lewis, I cannot believe you said that. C'mon Osborn." Laura picked up her plate and wine glass and carried them into the other room. Osborn, on his three good legs, followed her.

They finished eating in silence. Robbie came out and sat next to Laura on the sofa and apologized to Osborn who was lying in his new bed. Osborn was a very forgiving sort of dog, especially to anyone who fed him. He really liked Robbie, although not as much as Laura. When Robbie bent down to pet him, Osborn licked Robbie's hand and wagged his tail enthusiastically.

Laura decided to follow Osborn's lead and and also forgave Robbie and changed the subject. "Don't forget, James is bringing Liv Nash over the day after Osborn comes home from his surgery."

He smiled at her use of the word 'home'. "Want me to make one of my Voyage of Discovery meals?"

Laura frowned. "James said Liv didn't want us to go to any trouble. How about you order pizza?"

* * *

><p><strong>*Thank-you to Givemebritcopsnow who allowed me to borrow <em>Donald<em> from her story _Culinary Arts_.**

**A/N: For those of you who like word games there is a clue to the identity of Liv's mother in this chapter and one in the previous chapter.**


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